Of Mobs and Men, Adrenaline Rush
by Comic Kazii
Summary: Two best friends stumble upon a couple of girls who don't seem to belong in this world. They invite the girls into their homes, but little do they know that this will turn their world upside down. What exactly is this other world that these girls hail from and why is a god out to kill them? Connor and Gabriel are in for the fight of their lives. OC's accepted. Mob talker inspired.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been wanting to make this series for a long time now and I am excited to finally get it under way! This is a story inspired by Minecraft and the mob talker mod. I intend for this to be a fairly long series but I have a new job so I won't have as much time as I'd like to write so I won't be able to promise a new chapter every week :(**

 **Fear not though as I have a beta-reader/helper to help me out with my story. I speak of course about Gabriel. He has helped me with this story in so many ways already and he deserves a bit of credit.**

 **Now, this story is open to free editing. I fix errors and change small parts of the story in the beginning but will only fix grammatical errors when we move out of the beginning. Keep an eye on the update section of the A/N's so you don't miss anything!**

 **I also don't own any real world names, like Nissan, Swedish Fish, and Jacket from Miami Hotline (who is my favorite sociopath).**

 **Now I've been talking for WAY too long so I'm gonna shut up and let you start reading!**

 **Updated: 1/18/16**

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"Hoo, man that was tiring!" Connor said, stretching his arms above his head.

"Not surprising given your wild and reckless fighting style," Gabriel teased, smiling as he received a light punch in the arm.

"Seriously dude, you have got to stop charging in there with a sword. It's a horrible strategy," added Austin.

"Pfft, as if you're one to talk about strategy Austin," Connor said with a grin, thinking back to how Austin had literally pulled up a chair in the hallway and sat down, waiting for the action to come to him. It rarely did.

"Ladies, ladies, you're all brilliant strategists, so shut up." Martin said firmly, sarcasm practically dripping from his voice when he said 'brilliant'. Martin was giving a small smile that was barely visible behind his almost natural, "Russian Czar" expression and attitude.

The small posse of friends were all dressed for battle and toted guns with small orange tips at the end of the barrels. They had all just come back from a long day of airsofting, which is kind of like paintball except you have more realistic guns that fire small plastic pellets at high velocities. They were currently walking back to Connor and Austin's cars to be taken back home.

Connor was a 19 year old with pale-ish skin and dark blue eyes. His white medium length hair was partially hidden under his black skull cap. He wore black cargo pants and knee pads with complimenting black leather boots. He had a holster on each thigh for his twin revolvers in a cross-draw position. He had a black Amoeba am-014 rifle with an underbarrel flashlight and a black marksman's scope resting on his shoulder. Connor was wearing his favorite crimson leather jacket under a black tactical-vest that had the word _Spectre_ embroidered on it in jagged, red letters. Under the jacket he wore a simple grey t-shirt and a blue bead necklace with a sterling silver pendant shaped like a wolf's head. There was a training kukri knife on his belt and a training scimitar on his back.

Gabriel was 18 and had dark black hair that was shaved on the sides and the hair he had on top of his head was tied back into a long ponytail that reached just above the center of his back. He had bright green eyes and softly tanned skin. He was hauling his PKP Pecheneg and had his modified M4 slung on his back. The M4 was capable of emptying an entire clip in under a second, delivering a blistering amount of pellets at over 700 fps. Gabriel had sawed the stock off to make it more maneuverable and easier to carry, as well as shortened the barrel. He was wearing a dark green mesh half-mask and goggles that were hanging loosely around his neck. He wore his dark green tac-vest over a tan t-shirt and a long sleeve camo shirt under that. He had desert camo cargo pants with the ends tucked into his black combat boots. The word _Archangel_ was embroidered on his vest in white, curving letters.

Izzy was wearing typical camo pants and shirt with a tan plate-carrier on his chest. He had his modded M4 in his arms and a SIG-553 on a strap around his torso. Nathan was wearing a black Avenged Seven-fold t-shirt and worn jeans. He had a Spectre

Martin and Austin both looked like they were taken straight out of "American Sniper." They had on standard military equipment with matching M4s. The M4s had holographic sights, lasers, tac-lights, grips, and a mock suppressor. Anyone watching would've thought they were actual Marines. They were, without a doubt, the more militaristic of the group.

Izzy stood off to the side, not really saying much but laughing along with his buds, throwing in the occasional jab or taunt. Aaron was doing something blasphemous with a calculator. He tapped Connor's shoulder and showed him the calculator's screen. Connor groaned and facepalmed, turning the calculator over to show Gabriel. Gabriel barked out a laugh to see the words PIGEON repeating all over the screen randomly. Aaron and his ways with graphing calculators. The pigeon thing no one understood. One day Aaron came into the cafeteria, slammed his hand on the table and pronounced them all to be pigeons, pointing to each of them accusingly. They went with it because why the hell not? The group of friends mingled a bit more as the sun dipped below the horizon, throwing everything in shadow. They reached the parking lot a minute later and piled their equipment in their gun bags and then piled themselves into Connor's black Nissan X-Terra and Austin's white Mitsubishi 3000gt.

Izzy went with Austin and Everyone else got into Connor's offroad behemoth. Connor drove everyone to their homes until it was just him and Gabe. They had moved out of their parent's houses as soon as it was legally possible and lived in separate rooms at the same apartment complex. They had been looking for a good place to live and wound up deciding on the same building without even planning on it. Connor chose it because it was near the university and Gabriel because there was an, "amazing donut shop right next door." Connor was sure there was another reason but with Gabe who knows?

They were 20 minutes away from the apartment when things went wrong.

"Hey dude?" Said Gabriel.

"Yeah?"

"You realize the exit is right there right?"

Connor looked as Gabe in alarm and swerved to get into the next lane,earning several angry honks and stares, but he was in the left lane and there was no way to get there in time. Sure enough, as soon as they reached the right lane they passed the exit. Connor rolled down the window and swore loudly, much to Gabriel's amusement.

"Missing that exit is going to add another 10 minutes at least," Connor grumbled. He looked at Gabriel.

"Why does this always happen? We always end up lost!"

"Only when you're driving," Gabriel mumbled.

"You want to say that a bit louder?" Connor said threateningly.

"No, no. I'm fine leaving it as a mumble." Said Gabriel, a smile showing plainly on his face, hands raised innocently.

"Gah, I have no idea where we are. I'm pulling over so I can try to get Google Maps to work." Said Connor, already pulling out his phone.

"Ha! Good luck with that." Said Gabriel.

They pulled over underneath a streetlamp. The sky was completely dark now and they were in the ghetto but they weren't worried. Connor looked like an amped up terrorist and Gabriel knew martial arts so neither was worried about being bothered by the locals. Plus Connor kept a weapons stashed inside his car.

Gabriel got out to stretch a bit while Connor tapped away at his phone, silently cursing at it for being a useless piece of trash. He got out while the phone loaded Maps. He took off his tac-vest and training swords and put them in the back of the car. He also removed his sweaty skull cap and let the winter wind blow through his damp white hair, chilling his head. He shook his head to try and dry his hair a bit faster. He strapped a curved dagger he had hidden under the driver seat to his lower leg and climbed into the car. He saw that Maps had finally loaded, so he took some Swedish Fish from his car stash and munched on the cherry candy while tried to locate their apartment building.

He looked out the window in exasperation after he saw that it had started raining. He sighed and went back to tapping his phone.

A few minutes later Connor got Google Maps working but as he turned to tell Gabriel he noticed something was wrong. Gabriel was still as a statue, head cocked slightly to the side.

"Hey, dude. You alri-"

"Shh, shh," Gabriel hushed quietly, holding a finger up. He turned to Connor with a strange look on his face.

"Do you hear that?" He said. Connor turned the engine off and got out of the car, straining his ears to hear what Gabriel had heard. He listened, and listened. He heard nothing but the soft patter of rain on the pavement and his car and he and Gabriel's light breathing. After a few seconds of silence he was about to tell Gabriel he was going crazy when he heard something out of place. Gabriel looked at him with alarm on his face.

"Did you hear-" Gabriel began.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. A girl yelling. Where did it come from?"

The two boys listened for a moment. When they heard another shout, this time from what sounded like a man, they acted.

Gabriel grabbed a makarov from the glovebox and went to the trunk with Connor. Together they removed the floor of the trunk and found a hidden compartment filled with weapons, survival supplies, medical supplies, etc. Gabriel opened a green ammo box and stuffed two extra 9mm cartridges in his tactical vest. Connor opened a large cigar box and removed a black cylinder. He handed it to Gabriel and Gabriel applied the silencer to the barrel of his gun. Connor reached in the trunk and removed a scimitar with a similar design to his trainer. The blade itself was 21 inches long and it had an angled grip which allowed Connor to use some extraordinary moves that would be difficult otherwise. He also took a machete and slid the machete sheathe onto his back so the handle was near the right side of his waist.

Now armed, the boys ran towards where they had heard the commotion, both knowing that what they were doing was really freaking stupid. But someone had to help.

They ran towards an alleyway between a dinged out old diner and an apartment building. They stopped at the entrance and hid behind a dumpster. Connor peeked around the dumpster to get an idea of what was happening. The dim light that lit up the alley was flickering so it was difficult to see and it kept screwing with Connor's vision.

There were five guys, their backs were turned and hoods were up. They were standing menacingly around two cornered girls. One girl had long black hair and tanned skin and seemed to be holding a dark steel shortsword. However, the girl was out of breath and could barely hold onto the sword as it swayed in her hands. The other girl was standing behind her and had snow white hair and pale skin in contrast to her friend with the sword. The white-haired girl had a curved stick in her hands, and she looked nervous and angry at the same time.

 _Can't blame her, a stick and a really tired friend ain't much of a defense on five dudes in a small alley,_ Connor thought.

Connor turned back to Gabriel and whispered to him.

"Hey, go bring the car around. Turn the headlights into the alley. Do it quietly. Oh! And take your time. I want a minute to talk to these guys." Connor gave his keys to Gabriel, who raised an eyebrow in an unspoken question. Connor just smirked in an unspoken answer. Gabriel sighed and ran off to the car.

Connor grinned and threw up his hood; obscuring the top half of his face. He unconsciously reached into his pocket, his fingertips brushing against the white box that he carried with him everywhere. The instant his skin touched the plastic his entire demeanor changed: his shoulders lost their tension, his neck loosened up and he rolled it with several cracks, his grin was more relaxed and genuinely amused than before. Everything he saw swayed slowly around him, like he was in a warm daze. He walked out from behind the dumpster and pulled out the small white recorder in his pocket. He hid the scimitar behind his leg and held the recorder out to his side. His smile widened and he pushed a button on the side.

"#%& _Hello_.*"

The men stiffened. Then they slowly turned around. Connor angled his head and pushed the button again.

"#%& _What a lovely day right?*"_

They took a hesitant step back, one of them muttered something under his breath. Connor's smile vanished into a mask of emotionlessness as he revealed the sword behind his leg. The steel shone in the dim light. Click.

" _#% &Do you know what time it is?*"_

He didn't give any indication that he wanted to move. But suddenly he was charging them, sword trailing behind him and scratching against the ground, sending sparks up behind him.

The men jumped a bit but quickly recovered and advanced on the threat. The first one Connor met was lunging with a switchblade.

Connor hopped to the side and brought his arm around in a wide arc. The lunge missed him and Connor's sword swept past the next two men, making them stop in their tracks as the sword bit deep into the back of the first man. He cried out in pain and fell face-first into the pavement. Connor put a boot to the man's side and ripped the blade free. He turned and faced the next two, who froze in front of him. Then the fourth man charged out from behind them with a pair of brass knuckles.

He punched and his knuckles met steel as Connor put his sword between them. Connor put his right foot next to the man's left foot and pivoted on the end of that foot. Connor spun and whipped his steel away from the knuckles. The man recovered from a stagger and turned to deliver another punch. But Connor was coming back down from his swing and slammed the hilt of the sword into the back of the man's head. As he fell Connor turned to the other two, who were mid-attack with knives.

Connor had his back to them. He pulled his sword up to level with his face, pointing towards the men. He dodged one thrusted knife and shot out his right arm to the other. The blade wedged itself in the chest of the man, with the edge pointing outwards towards the man's right side. Connor stepped in close and put his free hand on the hilt. He pulled out a few inches and pushed on the sword, cutting through the man and sliding the blade free from the first and into the second. He pulled back on the sword and it slid backwards out of the second man's side. Both collapsed to the ground next to him.

Connor was about to walk towards the girls when he heard the sound of a gun safety being clicked off behind him. Connor froze. Behind him was the man he had hit on the head, one hand on his throbbing forehead and the other clutching a pistol. The man was panting heavily with blood oozing down one side of his face. Connor turned his head to glance at the man. The man's grip tightened on the pistol.

 _FLASH!_

Suddenly the whole alley was lit up. Connor held a hand up to cover his eyes and when he removed it he found the barrel of a gun in his face.

 _PFFT!_

The gun slid from the man's grip and he fell onto the ground with a pained groan. Connor shook his head wearily, finding the recorder back in his pocket. He looked up and saw a figure coming towards him with the light shining on his back. As he got closer Connor recognized Gabriel. Gabriel had the silenced makarov in his hand and he didn't look happy.

"Dammit man, I thought you were going to _talk_ to them!" He said, looking around at the blood spilled on the ground.

"Even in this hell of a city, this'll be on the news for days!" Connor shrugged and turned his back to Gabriel.

"You mean I told you that _I_ , of all people, was going to try to talk my way out of trouble?" He said snarkily. Gabriel sighed and conceded his point. Together they made their way to the last man, who had elected to grab the dark haired girl and keep her between him for the duration of the fight. Gabriel brought the gun to bear but kept his finger off the trigger. Connor hefted the sword onto his shoulder with a smirk.

"You're a coward, ya know that?" Connor said.

"You know what we do with cowards?" Gabriel asked. The man looked between the both of them with panic on his face. The knife he had to the girl's throat trembled. The girl moaned as the man struggled to keep her upright.

Connor knelt down and put his sword on the ground. Then, in one fluid movement, he whisked the knife on his leg out and threw it overhanded at the man. He cried out as the blade sunk into his exposed shoulder. He let the girl go and stepped back. Gabriel aimed and fired a shot into the man's left leg. He cried out again and fell on his back. Then both boys went to stand over his head and leaned in.

"'We leave em' for the buzzards.'" They said at the same time. The man panted in pain as he grasped at the knife in his shoulder and the gunshot on his leg. Connor reached down and yanked the knife free, much to the man's displeasure. Returning the knife to his leg, Connor turned to the girls. The black haired one was barely conscious, sitting on the wet ground like DiCapprio's French girls. Her hair clung to her back, neck, face, and chest. She was wearing a black short jacket that ended at her stomach and mid-upper arms. Her short shorts were of a similar color and she had black stockings. Her skin was sun-kissed and she had startlingly green eyes.

The white haired girl was dressed similarly, with the exception that her clothes were white and gray. Her hair was as long as her friend's and was snow white. She stood there looking at them both, unsure of what to think. When she came to the conclusion that these men weren't going to attack her she slid to the ground with a tired huff.

Connor and Gabriel shared a look.

"Hey, you need help?" Gabriel asked her. She shook her head wearily.

"Pfft. Like hell you don't. Its almost winter, its raining, your in shorts and a short jacket, and you're tired to boot. And your friend is practically the living dead right about now. I think the question was rhetorical, you need help." Connor said. The girl glared at him. After some consideration, she nodded. Gabriel went to help her up and then motioned to Connor. Connor then went to pick up the black haired girl, carrying her bridal style. A little coloration came to his cheeks when he realized how tight her jacket was on her C's but quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts. They went over to the car and opened the doors, but then the white-haired girl shook her head and lightly pushed away from Gabriel. She used the wall for support and made her way over to a closed Italian restraunt, standing under the red and white awning over the front door. Gabriel looked at Connor and Connor shrugged, moving to set the girl down in the backseat.

Gabriel elected to go talk to the girl under the awning while Connor took care of the other girl.

She was just standing there, hugging her arms close to her under her chest. She was looking out into the rain and didn't say anything for a few seconds. Gabriel waited patiently next to her for her to start, looking out at the rain like her.

"I-" She started hesitantly.

"I...I don't trust you. Either of you."

"That's fair," Gabriel said calmly.

"Especially the one in the hood. Is he...was...he with those men back there?" She asked.

"Connor? No. He's just...a little messed. These days, everyone has something wrong with them." Gabriel said, gazing over to the car, where Connor was putting a blanket from the trunk over the girl.

The girl was quiet for a time. Gabriel leaned against the restraunt and looked down to his boots.

"This town is rough. I'm surprised you two are out here alone, let alone at night!"

"Why? Is it worse at night?"

"Well, yeah. Not sure what those guys wanted with you but it could have been a number of things. The days in this city are bad; murder, robbery, mugging, and rape, it's all pretty common here. But the nights are the worst. Human traffickers, drug lords and gangs. All of the worst parts of the city live after 10 pm." She seemed to debate this for a few seconds before responding.

"Then why do you live here?" She asked with cautious curiosity.

"A...are you part of this dangerous night life?"

Gabriel laughed.

"Us? No no no. We missed an exit on the road and it's taking us longer than usual to get home is all. Rather fortunate really, otherwise I'd be asleep in bed and you'd be God knows where."

"Who's God?"

"Huh? Seriously?" He asked her incredulously.

She just looked at him blankly. He sighed and explained it was the deity of a religion that many people followed. His family followed it but he and Connor were somewhat in a gray area. Connor had his own thoughts about the afterlife and how the universe came to be. But the prospect of "God" was such a big one that it was common for it to be referenced even by those who don't believe in it. She scrunched her eyes together, trying to comprehend it all. Eventually she just nodded and turned back to the rain.

"I never got an answer." Gabriel said. She moved slightly to show she was listening.

"What were you two doing alone out here at night? You escape some human traffickers?"

"Human what?"

"Oh come on! Have you been living under a rock for the last twenty years?" He exclaimed. She looked at him in surprise.

"I don't mean to be insulting but this is all pretty much common knowledge. *sigh* Human traffickers take people and sell them as slaves to other shadowy organizations or really rich people who can get away with hiding it." Her look told him this was her first time hearing about them. He just sighed.

"People actually do that?" She asked him.

"Yep, no one does anything though. Well, except for that one guy on the news. Spectre or something like that."

"Spectre?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah it's some vigilante who has been cleaning house around the city. Cops would get anonymous tips at first, but then he started doing the dirty work himself when the cops didn't, or rather couldn't, do anything about it. There's a half-hearted attempt to find him by the police. But honestly I don't think they want him to be caught." There was a pause for a few seconds before she spoke again.

"I don't know."

"What?"

"Your question. I don't know why we were outside after dark. It was just that time when we got here. Which, by the way, where is here?" Gabriel looked like he was on the verge of putting his fist through the wall. This girl had to have been raised in a cellar or something. But he kept his cool and responded.

"This trash of a city," he began, gesturing idly to the rain-swept city streets.

"Is called Micro City. Don't let the name fool ya. It's anything but small. We're just a few minutes drive from the city skirts actually. The center of the city is the eye of the shit storm so we try to avoid it."

"Micro City...well, now that I answered your question will you answer one of mine?"

 _'That's all I've been doing for this whole conversation,'_ he thought.

"Sure."

"Why are you two here? If it's that bad here then why stay?" Gabriel looked over to Connor, who had placed a blanket over the now passed out girl in the back seat, and was now sitting in the open trunk. He had his sword on his lap and was busy cleaning blood off of and then polishing the steel.

"Partly because he is still attending school here. Due to finances he was forced to go here and not the one in Illinois that he wanted. He still has three years to go, I just hope we live long enough for him to get a degree." She looked at Connor for a second as well before responding.

"Well, then I get why HE would want to stay. But what about YOU?" He thought for a minute.

"He wouldn't survive if I wasn't here. Not just from the city, also from stress. He handles stress about as well as a landmine. I need to be there to stop him from blowing a top and doing something crazy. Also, I have family and friends here." He shook his head and looked at her shivering form. He wasn't wearing anything he could put over her to keep her warm.

He gestured to Connor to back the car up and bring a blanket. He nodded and put away his sword. As he went to the driver seat, Gabriel tried to talk to her again.

"Listen, you need to come with us. I don't see you and your friend surviving the night in those clothes." She stiffened at the thought of going with two strangers, but there was one little voice telling her he was right.

Connor had backed the car up and was now heading over to them with a blanket from the trunk. Gabriel took it and offered it to the girl. She looked at it, then at the two boys. She held their gaze and clenched her teeth. She took the blanket and wrapped it around herself tightly, blushing at the warmth it held.

"It's thermal, but won't stay that way in this cold for long. We should go soon." He said as he made his way back to the car. He gestured for Gabriel to follow. When they had gotten closer to the car they started talking.

"Hey man," said Connor.

"Hey," replied Gabriel.

"So, you mind filling me in here?" Asked Connor. Gabriel sighed and began to relay everything the girl had just told him.

"Apparently they aren't from around here. They don't know how they got here or where here even is. I don't have the details yet." Gabriel said, glancing over at the white-haired girl, who was clutching the blanket to her tightly, shivering despite the thermal blanket.

"Well, that dark haired one is tired as hell. She passed out from fatigue as soon as she sat down. You get their names yet?"

Gabriel shook his head.

"Nah, she doesn't trust us too much. Especially you, there's something about you that disturbs her. But eh, that's the normal reaction people get after first meeting you." Gabriel smiled a little as Connor lightly slapped him upside the head.

"And I understand I guess, they wake up and the first guys they meet attack them. Then out of nowhere two more show up and kill all of the others. I wouldn't trust me either in her situation."

"Yeah, I get it. And I'm pretty sure they aren't dead yet. If any of them have brains they'll call an ambulance and maybe they'll live. I'm not calling shit for those A-hats though. But anyway, we need to get her in the car. That blanket won't last too much longer."

Gabriel nodded again, a vacant look in his eyes as he watched the white-haired girl out of the corner of his eye. Connor tapped his shoulder and tried to get his attention.

"Hey, earth to Gabriel. Come in Gabriel. Hey, dude. Yo..." Gabriel didn't acknowledge that his friend was even there. He was too lost in thought. Connor sighed and walked back to the car. Gabriel was thinking, there was something about that girl. Something, familiar...

 _HONK HOOOONK!_

Both the girl and Gabriel nearly jumped out of their skin. Gabriel looked over to see a very annoyed Connor glaring at him from the driver seat. Gabriel sighed and went over to the white-haired girl.

"Look, I know you have no reason to trust us..."

"Besides the fact that we just saved you from a bunch of thugs!"

"Shut up, Connor! You're not helping!"

Connor shrugged and started to fiddle with his phone and the various wires he had connected to the radio.

"As I was saying, you have no reason to trust us, but right now you need our help. Like it or not." The girl seemed to debate this and let out an exasperated breath. She went over to the car and looked at the door confusedly. Gabriel raised an eyebrow and went to open the door for her. She silently thanked him and sat next to her sleeping friend. Gabriel closed the door and got in the passenger side. After they had piled in, Connor started the engine and made his way to their apartment. The drive was short but was filled with questions and answers between the girl and the boys.

When they arrived at the apartment they decided to stay at Connor's place, since Gabriel's was a whole floor up and Connor had to carry the black-haired girl in. At his request, Gabriel fished the key out of Connor's pocket and let them in, flipping the light switch on his way in. Connor carried her into his bedroom and set her down on the bed. He covered her up with the sheets and closed the door. Gabriel was sitting down on the couch and had his head back and his eyes closed, lost in thought. Connor pulled up a chair from the dinner table next to the window and sat in it backwards, resting his arms on the back of the chair.

"Gabe, dude. It ain't like you to do all this hard thinking. I'm surprised your head hasn't blown up yet." Connor joked.

"Gah, shut up Connor. Not in the mood." Gabriel said, laying his arm across his eyes. Connor looked at the white haired girl and pulled up a chair for her. She was hesitant at first but eventually she sat in the chair, eyes lowered to the floor. Connor watched her inspect everything in the room, pausing whenever she looked at any electronics, pictures, and furniture.

"You really aren't from around here are ya?" Connor asked. She looked at him with a blank expression.

"What?"

"I said you really aren't from around here, are you?" She shook her head.

"I live in a place very different from this foul smelling city. There's so much stone here its like a cave without a ceiling. The only exposed rock at my home was on the cliff edges."

Connor noted her voice. It was young, but mature. That was a quality that said alot about this girl. Not many teen girls her age had that much maturity.

 _Speaking of age..._ Connor thought.

"Hey, how old are you?" Asked Connor. Gabriel bolted upright and slapped Connor across the back of the head.

"Moron! You don't ask a lady her age! This is why you don't have a girlfriend!"

"First off, ow! And second, I don't have a girlfriend because every girl I meet either has a guy or is a complete bitch! I shouldn't have to explain my love life to you of all people! And she won't answer your questions so I thought I'd start with something that wouldn't make this seem like an interrogation!" Connor yelled, rubbing the back of his head. Gabriel was obviously pissed about something and Connor could tell. They'd spent just enough time together for him to know when something was bothering him.

"Look just because you're pissed about something doesn't mean you have to take it out on me!"

"I'm pissed AT you! You never can keep your mouth shut and one day its gonna get you killed!"

"No, I know when you're mad at me. I've seen that enough to recognize it on sight. And I'm unkillable, so it's unlikely my mouth will earn me my death. You're mad at something else, so? Spill it. What's eating at ya?"

"None of your business!" Gabriel finished, flopping back on the couch.

"Gabe?" Connor asked. Gabriel didn't move.

"Gabe?" He asked again. No response.

"Oh, oh fine then just kriffing pout!" Connor exclaimed. Connor closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head again then sat back down.

"What's with all the shouting?" Asked a quiet voice. Gabriel looked up and Connor turned to look over his shoulder and almost fell out of his chair.

The black-haired girl was awake and was leaning lazily on the door frame. The blanket was slung over her shoulders but was slipping off her shoulder. Her dark hair was tangled and all over her face. Most girls looked like hell when they wake up after a hard sleep but this time? Connor and Gabriel fought to keep the blood from rushing to their faces.

The white-haired girl got up and ran over to help her friend. She pulled the blanket back over her shoulder and half carried her to the leather chair facing the TV. She set her down in the chair and went back to her seat. They sat, all four of them, in a square. They looked awkwardly at each other and when the black-haired girl was a bit more awake they started the introductions.

"So," Connor began, "My name's Connor, the boy-wonder on the couch is Gabriel. May I ask who you ladies are? And, if you don't mind, tell us why those men were chasing you?"

The girls looked at each other.

"Its..." Started the white-haired girl. She looked to her friend for help who finished with, "Complicated."

Connor sighed and leaned over, resting his arms on the back of the chair.

"Well we ain't going anywhere until this rain stops so I think we have time." He said. Gabriel sat back and put up his booted feet on the coffee table, hands clasped behind his head. Gabriel took in a tired breath.

"He's right. Not going anywhere for now. So, how about you tell us this 'complicated' story of yours? And please, don't skimp on the details. Start from the very beginning."

The girls shared another glance and the white-haired girl looked at Gabriel.

"Alright, so. The beginning..."

* * *

 **This chapter is by far the longest I've ever written and my hope is to keep all of the chapters in this story near the same length. Again, this story is open to free-editing. So make sure to check back in every once and awhile and see when it was last updated. I know it's a pain for you guys, I'm sorry. But my goal is to be satisfied with my story by its end and that can only happen if I can make some changes to it. Tell me what you thought in the reviews and I'll see ya in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This is by far the longest chapter I've ever written. Nearly 8,000 words! Let me know if it's too long or if you want me to write this length all of the time.**

* * *

The girls shared another glance and the white-haired girl looked at Gabriel.

"Alright, so. The beginning..."

* * *

 _A couple hours earlier._

"Hey, Harmony!" Clear called, waving to her step-sister. Harmony ran over to her beloved step-sister, long dark hair flowing behind her and her sword bumping against her hip. Harmony threw her arms around Clear with a big smile on her face.

"Hey, sis!" Harmony said with obvious joy in her voice.

"It's been too long! Has everything been alright back at the fortress?"

* * *

"Hold on hold on, you live in a what?" Connor asked incredulously. Harmony sighed and explained that yes, she did in fact live in a fortress. With her own guards and everything. Connor seemed to be a bit humbled by this revelation and realized that his small apartment was probably the size of this girl's closet.

"Nevermind him, continue." Said Gabriel, folding his hands together and leaning forward a bit, eager to hear the rest.

* * *

"It's been alright, had a bit of trouble with the neighbors which is why we haven't been able to come visit for a while," Harmony explained. Harmony's father left the girls to see Clear's mother, his wife. As the couple went inside the girls began to walk, catching up on what was happening in their two separate worlds.

"We had a bit of a bug problem here but thankfully the guards made them shove off our land," Clear said.

"Good, I know how you feel about spiders. Same here, too many eyes for my taste."

"Yeah, how about you? What's the deal with the neighbors?"

"Hm? Oh, they just kept wandering into our land. It was just at the perimeter at first but they are getting bolder, wandering deeper and deeper into our territory. We push them back but every day more and more find their way in. It's annoying." Harmony said with a small exasperated sigh. She looked at her half sister and smiled.

"I miss this, just us talking. Walking at night," she said dreamily.

"Yeah, the rain's a nice change of pace too," Clear said, holding her hand out to collect some rain droplets. When a small puddle of rain had gathered in her hand she smirked and gave Harmony a sideways glance.

Harmony was still smiling, looking straight ahead, but when her sister remained quiet she frowned and looked at her.

Just in time to get a face full of water.

Not that she wasn't already wet but it was still quite a surprise. Clear laughed and ran ahead, leaving her sister spluttering and laughing behind her. Harmony, determined to get revenge, sprinted to catch up with her sister. Clear looked over her shoulder to see Harmony catching up quickly. She pulled her bow off her back and fitted an arrow with a string attached to it into the notch. Without breaking stride she pulled back the bow and let the arrow fly up into the thick branches of a nearby tree. She ran up to the tree and jumped, landing her feet solidly on the trunk before running up the tree into the branches, using the string to help keep her from falling.

Harmony smiled at the challenge and pulled out her sword. She swung the dark gray short sword in her hand and threw it at a nearby tree. The sword thunked into the trunk and she sprinted up to and jumped on top off the sword. She crouched on the sword and grabbed the handle with one hand while reaching for the closest branch with the other. She yanked herself and her sword up into the tree and began to climb up it. When she reached the top she looked around, trying to get a clear line of sight to spot Clear. It only took a second to spot the long white hair flying out from behind some branches on the cold wind. She smiled and ran, hopping from branch to branch to clear the trees between her and her target.

The flowing white hair leapt up out of the branches and started to hop over the trees in a similar fashion to Harmony, albeit a bit more practiced and smooth. Clear paused and looked back at Harmony, a smile on her face and hair whipping this way and that. When Harmony got a little closer Clear jumped down back onto the ground. Harmony hopped over to where Clear had left the treetops and followed her down.

Once her feet hit the ground she looked around and tried to find Clear. Unbeknownst to Harmony, Clear was hiding behind a thick tree behind her just off to her right. Harmony ran forward while Clear followed behind, keeping to the shadows and making as little noise as possible. Like a practiced hunter Clear withdrew an arrow from her quiver and swept it up onto her bow, sweeping just ahead of Harmony's moving figure. The second Harmony stopped moving Clear let the arrow loose.

Harmony let out a surprised yelp as the arrow thudded into a tree five inches from her face. Before she could regain her composure Clear tackled her to the wet ground and wrestled with her in the mud. Clear may have had an upper hand in the forests but in close quarters that hand went to Harmony. Harmony swept her arm around Clear's neck and pushed with her legs and back, flipping them over. With Harmony on bottom and Clear struggling to get out of Harmony's choke hold the two girls struggled for only a few more seconds before Clear gave up. Harmony let Clear up and they brushed mud out of their faces and off their shoulders and arms before once again bursting into laughter and walked back out into the clearing between the forest and the mountain.

Harmony and Clear walked by a small pond, with the forest to their right and a cliff face to their left. They wandered over to a large rock that sat next to the pond. Harmony hopped up and sat down on the rock, swinging her leg over the edge, her bare toes skimming the crystal clear waters. Clear leaned on the rock and stared up at the sky. The girls remained that way for a few minutes, trying to decide what to talk about and what they should do.

Harmony gazed into the clear waters below her and counted the fish, wondering if this simple life was all she was ever going to have. Clear looked up to the sky and wondered at the clouds, at the rain, and at the very existence of herself. It was a good long hour before one of them spoke.

"Hey," said Harmony.

"Yeah?" Said Clear.

"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"

* * *

The girls gazed at Connor in confusion as he doubled over in laughter.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Asked Gabe, who was also a bit confused by his friend's sudden behavior.

Connor tried to speak but was interrupted by another fit of his own laughter.

"Seriously dude, shut up," said Gabriel. Connor began to calm down a bit and leaned back in his seat but realized he was sitting in his chair backwards and fell onto the floor.

"Ow," Connor groaned.

Harmony put a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughing while Clear just looked down at the fallen boy in contempt and disdain.

 _What a fool,_ she thought.

Connor lay on the ground, eagle-spread, and showed no intention of getting back up.

"Uh, Connor?"

"Yeah man?"

"..."

"..."

"You gonna get back up?"

Connor didn't respond as he took this in extreme consideration, scrunching his eyes together until he came to a conclusion.

"Nope."

Gabriel sighed and looked back over to the girls.

"Please continue," he said.

"Yeah, don't mind me. Just keep talking, Grif." Connor said, mumbling the last bit.

"What was that?" Harmony asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"Nothing, nothing. Simmons." He mumbled again.

Gabriel pondered for a bit, then thought back to when Connor introduced him to an online web series and thought of the first episode.

"Oh you little!" Gabriel finished his sentence with a thrown pillow. Connor kicked it away with his feet and continued to lay on the carpet, chuckling lightly.

"Oooookaaay...ahem, anyway," continued Clear.

* * *

"Yeah, sometimes. Why? Do you think you have an answer?" Clear responded. Harmony gazed at the sky and considered her answer before presenting it.

"I guess we're here because there's nowhere else we can be. If you think about it, our Souls could have gone anywhere after their bodies have died. They could have traveled anywhere, could've been anything, but something pulled our Souls here, to this world. For what reason I don't know. But maybe the answer to that isn't ever supposed to be found. Maybe we are just supposed to go with it. Live the life we were given. I suppose...there isn't a good answer to be found here, tonight. Not by us. But someone else has the answer. I know it. I just hope I don't ever meet that person." Harmony said.

"Why?" Asked Clear. A fog started to roll in, misting over the waters of the pond and slightly obscuring the moon.

"Because anyone who knows the answer to that question must know the answer to others like it. Like what is the meaning of life? Anyone who knows the answers to those questions can't be anything less, than a god."

 _"A god? Hm, I never thought of myself as a god."_

The girls spun around and saw a tall dark figure standing behind them. His hands were clasped behind his back and he was shrouded by the fog. Only his eyes were visible, bright white and piercing through the fog like a beacon. Clear drew her bow and Harmony her sword. The man, if he was a man at all, chuckled at the two young girls before him.

 _"So menacing. Put away your toys, children. They will not do you any good against me."_

The man looked at the girls and twitched his finger. The girls suddenly had piercing headaches but found that they couldn't move. But then their bodies began to move without their brains telling them to do so. The girls put away their weapons and stood stock still, facing the man before them. The walked a little closer to them, hands still behind his back.

 _"You both have so many questions. I can hear them now, even with your mouths being in this...state."_

He stood in front of Clear and looked her in the eyes. Clear tried to squint from the bright light that was being shown directly to her eyes but still couldn't move. She tried to look away but her eyes refused to move. She had no choice but to return his stare, her eyes burning all the while.

 _"You want to know who, or rather what, I am. The answer to that is simple you see. Your step-sister has already answered it, in her own way. I, little one, am a_ _ **god**_ _."_

When he said god a burst of wind blew through the valley, seeming to have come directly from the figure himself. He walked away and began to slowly pace in front of the girls, much to Clear's relief.

 _"You see, I have everything I could ever want. Knowledge, skill, power, I even have a daughter who is more ruthless than I am. But even with all these things I do lack one very important thing. The most important."_

He stopped pacing and looked at Harmony.

 _"Entertainment."_

Harmony felt a shiver go through her spine.

 _"So you see, I am so very bored. While my...other half...is busy with his own assorted entertainment I thought I might try something that I learned from him not too long ago."_

He walked up closer to Harmony and looked into her eyes. Harmony too, found her eyes frozen when locked into the man's stare.

 _"Haven't you ever wondered if you could have been born into another world? A different world? What would it be like? Would you be happy there? Well young child, I am here to answer all of these questions and more. But I will do it slowly, I will let you discover the answers yourself. I may give you a little push from time to time, to speed things along. But ultimately child, the answers to these questions are up to you."_

Thunder rolled overhead as a storm appeared. Lightning flashed within the clouds. One bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck a nearby tree. The girl's hair stood on end at the sudden voltage and were surprised to find the tree to be simply gone. Roots and all. Harmony tried to yell, to scream, to do anything that would let her dad realize something was wrong. But she could do nothing but watch the man walk away slowly, his eyes still burrowing away into her skull.

 _"Before you go I want to answer at least one of your questions directly,"_

The girls found their bodies begin to loosen, slowly but surely, they were being released from this man's mental grip.

 _"Why are you both here? Well, the answer to that one is simple as well. You see..."_

He raised his hand above his head and the lightning became frenzied, lancing through the clouds with tremendous speeds. The girls began to feel their bodies again and got ready to move. The man looked at them both with those burning white eyes.

 _"You're both here,"_

Time seemed to slow as the girls moved, dashing forwards at the man, hands going for their weapons. The man lowered his hand and pointed at them as more lightning flashed overhead. Two bolts of lightning streaked down from the sky and struck Clear and Harmony with a thunderous boom. But they didn't hear the lightning. All they heard were the last words of the man with the white eyes. And what they heard turned their hearts to ice even as the lightning arced through their bodies and burned them up from the inside out, eliciting screams from them both.

 _"For my amusement."_

* * *

"Hey."

Clear shook her head groggily, trying to make the voice go away to let her sleep.

"Hey."

It said again, a bit louder this time. She groaned and wiggled uncomfortably.

"B****!" The voice now shouted. Clear yelped and awoke in a hurry. She looked around her and saw that she was no longer in the forest. She was in a room of some kind, there was very little light and there were clothes and what looked like very thin books scattered all over the floor along with other bits of junk. She looked to her right and yelped again to find a man's face right next to hers. She shrunk back and studied his face.

Upon closer inspection it wasn't a man's face, it was a teenager. His skin was tanned, much like Harmony's. He had on a strange looking hat on his head. It looked like a cap with a very flat part sticking out of one side. He seemed to be wearing it crooked. He also had what looked like very heavy gold strung on a necklace in what she assumed was his clan's insignia. It looked like a snake with two branches piercing it like a kabob. His tanned face smiled to reveal too-white teeth.

"Well, well, _chica_! If you wanted me in you all you needed to do was ask!" He said with a big smirk on his face.

"E-excuse me?" Clear said, confusion plain on her face as she shrunk back even more from him. He leaned in more and kept that stupid grin on his face.

"You heard me _puta_. Turn around!" He reached up and rubbed the exposed part of her thigh between her stockings and her shorts.

"Hey!" She said angrily and punched him square in the jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Gah! B****! Come here!" He lunged at her and met the heel of her foot with his left eye. He hollered and fell back again, hand holding his now black eye. Clear stood up and looked around again. She spotted her bow and quiver leaning against the far wall and she strode over to it, stepping on the teen's crotch as she went. She ignored his hollering and walked out the door with her bow on her back and quiver on her side. She opened the door and walked down the stairs. There was a woman standing over a small pot that was steaming on a large white box with rectangular doors in front of it. There was a young girl drawing on a small book at the table. A large mustached man was slumped in a chair in front of a box with people singing in it.

 _How do they fit in there? I've never seen people so small!_ She thought. The woman turned around and saw her and she yelped, taking a small jump back with her hand over her heart. The man turned around and his eyes widened. The girl looked up with clear indifference and went back to coloring.

"Who are you?" The woman asked. Clear ignored her and walked down into the main room. She looked around and spotted the door pretty quickly due to the small size of the room. She walked over to it and put her hand on the knob. She was about to leave when she felt a strong hand grasp her shoulder.

"Little girl, my wife asked you a question. Seeing as how you are in our home you should answer her."

Clear sighed and turned around huffily.

"My name is Clear. I woke up in a bed upstairs and found a boy staring over me. I think he made a move on me so I reacted appropriately. May I go now?" Clear said, folding her arms in apparent impatience. The man and the woman, his wife, shared a look. The woman turned to the little girl.

"Catalina, sweet pea, go to your room for a little bit will you my love? The grown ups need to talk," she said gently.

"About Jose having sex with girls?" The girl, Catalina, said, obviously disinterested.

"What?" The woman said confusedly.

"Jose having sex with girls. He watches videos and talks to girls about it." Said Catalina.

"What?!" The man boomed. Clear wasn't sure who he was angry at, Catalina or Jose, maybe both.

"Hold on papa, maybe she is the first! Maybe he hasn't..." The woman started.

"She's not the first." Said Catalina.

"WHAT?!" Both of the adults said at once. Clear started to slowly back out the door as Catalina started to list off all of the girls that Jose came home with after they went to work. Once she made it outside she quietly closed the door and turned around. She almost immediately gagged on the foul air. She coughed a few times and tried to find out where she was.

She seemed to be on a stairway of some kind, the third floor. There was a small courtyard in the center of the complex with a large broken fountain. Clear looked at the sky and saw it dark with rainclouds and some kind of dirty looking fog.

"This place is disgusting," Clear mumbled to herself. She felt dirty just breathing this air.

"Clear!"

Clear looked up to see Harmony on the other side of the courtyard, on the fourth floor waving her arms. Clear smiled and waved back. Harmony motioned to the courtyard, not wanting to disturb the other occupants of the building with more shouting. Clear nodded and withdrew her rope-arrow. She notched the arrow into the bow and leaned back against the railing. She shot the arrow straight up into a part of the roof that extended outwards like a balcony. She grabbed the rope and repelled down to the ground. She put away her weapons and walked over to the fountain to wait for Harmony, who simply took the stairs.

Harmony came down and ran to Clear, hugging her sister tightly. When they separated they took another look around. There were four buildings in all, each opposite the other surrounding the square courtyard they were in. Harmony turned back to Clear, worry apparent in her expression.

"Clear, where are we?"

Clear took her time answering, as she had no idea either. It was obvious that the White-Eyed-Man had sent them off to another place, but where they had been sent exactly was unknown. Harmony tapped Clear's shoulder and pointed to an opening under one of the buildings. The girls walked to the opening and saw a long slab of dark stone with white lines marked in a pattern down its center. Before they could wonder over the strange stone a very large object shot past them with a loud roar. The girls yelped and leapt back, taking cover behind a wall on each side of the entrance.

"What was that?" Asked Harmony in a small voice.

"I don't know!" Said Clear back, in an equally quiet voice. Clear peeked around the corner but didn't see anything. She slowly crept out from behind the wall, arrow at the ready. She walked until she was standing on top of one of the white lines in the middle of the black slab. Then she felt the ground tremble lightly as she whipped her head to the right, where a low thrumming sound was coming from. A large yellow creature, with four black feet that propelled it by unknown means (seeing as how they weren't moving) and two yellow eyes, even brighter eyes than the White-Eyed-Man. As it came closer the thrumming became louder, and Clear drew back her bow. She aimed for its right eye, she was going to blind the beast then have Harmony finish it off with her sword. It drew nearer, and nearer, until finally it was within range and Clear let the arrow fly. Much to Clear's surprise there was no loud cry of pain, just the shattering sound glass would make if broken. The eye she had shot had closed, leaving the one unblinking eye on its left side. The beast slowed and came to a stop just a few meters away from her. Clear got another arrow ready and Harmony, who had watched everything unfold, silently unsheathed her sword. Clear was surprised that the beast showed no sign of pain, it simply seemed to be asleep. She was even more surprised however when four people emerged from inside it. Slightly taken aback Clear's aim faltered. The men seemed to be confused and were poking around the beast, apparently looking for something. Then one of them looked at the beast's face and shouted to the rest, showing them Clear's arrow still protruding from the beast's eye socket. The men's confused voices became angry as they looked around for the bowman. Instead they saw Clear, bow in hand and arrow at the ready. A few of them flinched at the sight of the arrow but one of them stared Clear down with hatred. He began to walk towards her menacingly, stride powerful and full of dangerous intent.

"What, the hell, do you think you're doing? You just shot out the light on my Hummer!" He shouted at her.

"Hummer, so that's what you call it. I'm sorry but it was large, intimidating, and was charging straight at me. So I acted accordingly." Clear said, voice calm and tempered.

"Then maybe you shouldn't stand in the middle of the road!" He shouted again. He seemed very fond of shouting.

"If you don't stop shouting at me I might shoot you next," Clear warned.

"Yeah? You gonna shoot me girl? Go ahead! Shoo-GAH!" He cried out as Clear fired an arrow into his thigh. He fell to the ground with tears tracking down his face.

"I warned you," Clear said. The other men with him saw this and took a step back in shock. Then it registered that she just shot their friend, and it was time for some payback. All at once they ran at her, yelling and cursing, while her arrows took two more down. The last one got to Clear before she could draw another arrow. He tackled her to the ground and knocked her bow away. Clear put up her arms to shield herself from his punches but quickly realized that none came. She peeked out from behind her arms and saw Harmony pushing him off her sword with her foot. Harmony flicked the blood off her sword and sheathed it, offering her hand to her sister. Clear took it and heard a hushed voice whispering nearby.

She drew her bow and aimed in the direction the voice came from and saw one of the men she had shot talking into a small box. She drew back the string and fired an arrow at him. The arrow hit the box and sent it clattering out of his hand. He yelped and clutched his hand. Harmony picked him up by his shirt collar and threw him against a wall.

"What were you doing?" She yelled at him. The man grimaced as the arrow that was still stuck in his leg moved a bit, then he bit down on the pain and looked her square in the eyes.

"You have no idea who you just messed with girl."

Clear stiffened as she heard a noise, sounded like another one of those big creatures. Sure enough, another creature came speeding around a corner. This one was smaller but was still very fast and it was accompanied by several other beasts similar to it. All of the beasts came to a stop on the black slab and more men exited the beasts insides. The men all wore odd clothing, some had their pants down at their ankles for some reason. A few produced wooden clubs and others small knives. Harmony and Clear knew they were outnumbered, the best thing to do was to retreat. The sisters backpedaled slowly as the men pushed forward. Clear let her arrows fly at the men, each arrow taking down one man. Harmony used her sword to fend off the knife-wielders. Clear sent an arrow at a rather large man and it hit him in the shoulder. They tried to avoid killing them, as they didn't want to attract the attention of those higher than them. The last thing they needed was for the king of these ruffians to send more men against them. After only a minute of fighting Clear and Harmony started to sprint away, the men kept coming in those beasts. One of the beasts barreled down the black slab and slowed to keep pace with them. A man leaned out of the side of the beast, which Clear now saw was made out of a metallic material.

 _Are these some form of minecart?_ Clear thought as she fired at the man. He screamed in pain and dropped what he was in the process of pointing at her. It clinked to the ground behind her. Clear almost stopped to retrieve it as it was surely a weapon of some kind and would be useful in their escape. But as she paused she realized that more men had gathered and were sprinting at her. She left the weapon and ran to catch up with her sister. They ran and ran, fighting off the men as they went. Clear ran out of arrows and started beating them out of her way if they got near her. Harmony was tiring quickly, despite her impressive stamina. Her sword was getting heavier and heavier, and her legs started to feel like jelly. After what felt like hours of running and fighting they managed to lose the men around a corner just as rain started to fall.

They turned and Harmony yanked Clear off of the slabs and into a narrow alley between two large buildings. A dying glowstone lamp hung from the wall and cast very little light. The girls hunkered down behind a very smelly bin made of metal. After a few seconds they heard heavy footfalls passing by. Clear leaned over and peeked out from behind the bin. The men were breathing heavily and were jogging slowly. Most of them went past them but a few lagged behind and stopped in front of the entrance of the alley to catch their breath. After the men had gone Clear could only see a handful of men from the alley, and they seemed to have given up the chase. They started to talk amongst themselves and Clear strained her ears to hear what they were saying.

"...are we chasing these broads huh? Tell me that. Ugh, god. They sure can run," said one.

"We're chasing em' to make an example of them. No one messes with the Shuma and gets away with it with their limbs intact!" Said another.

"Heh, nor their virginities!" Said another. The men laughed.

* * *

"Hold on a sec, the Shuma?!" Connor exclaimed, his eyes wide and mouth open.

"Yeah, they said Shuma. Who are they? Some kind of large clan?" Harmony asked.

"Pfft, that's putting it mildly," Gabriel said, he leaned back and crossed his arms, resting the back of his head on the cushions. The girls looked at him in confusion, waiting for him to continue. Gabriel sighed and continued.

"The Shuma are the single largest gang in the whole state. They probably own most of these streets actually. Well, they don't own them legally, but this is their territory."

"How can it be their territory but not their land? Did they take it illegitimately or something?" Harmony asked.

"Somethin' like that," Connor said. "The government owns the land and lets us live on it, but the Shuma work in the shadows, evading the police until their business is done. At least, that's how they used to be. Suddenly they got a huge influx of members so now they work openly because they outnumber the police and are getting more weapons every day. We've actually considered moving out of this place to get away from it all."

"That explains why there were so many, will our involvement with them put us in any danger?" Clear asked. Gabriel shook his head slowly.

"Gah, you really don't get it do you? As long as you're here you two aren't safe. They know what you look like and are actively searching for you. You need to leave this place fast."

Connor sat up and rested his head in his hands.

"The Shuma? Jeez, as if life here wasn't hard enough. You know I actually thought you were pulling our legs for awhile there, I mean, guys with powers and glowing eyes? Teleporting? I find that hard to believe. Lucky for you I'm pretty trusting so I'll believe you for now, and adding the Shuma to the story seems to make it a bit more believable. They've been involved in some strange stuff lately. Look girls you can stay here for now but we need to find you someplace more permanent. More secure. From now on don't leave the house alright? Don't even look out the windows. I'll try to find someplace for you two to go. I already have a place in mind actually, just need to check it out. See if it is still up and running."

The girls sat and thought about their situation. Clear was worried about how they would get home if they couldn't even leave the house. Harmony was worried about the boys, they have helped them so much and all she and Clear did was make their lives harder, how could she ever repay that? Gabriel interrupted their thoughts.

"Anyway, it seems that we are nearing the part where we come in, lets finish it out."

Clear nodded and continued.

* * *

Clear couldn't hear the rest of what they were saying so she leaned further out. However she forgot that she left her bow leaning against the bin and her back, so when she leaned forward the bow slid off the back and clattered to the ground. Clear leapt back behind the bin.

"Hey, what was that?" One of the men asked. There was a sound of footsteps getting closer and closer. Clear saw her bow, it was partly sticking out from the shadow of the bin. Harmony tightened her grip on her sword. Clear waited until the footsteps got closer. Once they were near the bin she made her move.

She leapt out from behind the bin, grabbing the bow as she went. She charged the man closest to her and swung hard at his face, crying out as she did so. It connected with a wet _THACK_ and sent him spinning to the ground. The man cried out loudly as he held his cheek where Clear had smacked him. There was a swishing sound and Clear leapt back just in time to avoid the knife. She looked at her bow and saw the string was cut. Now it was just a stick. Harmony struggled to her feet, using the sword as a crutch to pull herself up. Once upright she hastened to her sister's side. The man Clear had hit had gotten back up and was now very angry. The men had cornered them, and it didn't look like the odds were in Clear and Harmony's favor. Clear felt anger and rage fill her, how could this happen? She has never allowed herself to be cornered like an animal. How could this have happened?

The men ground their teeth and started forward. One man charged Harmony, who lifted her sword weakly to swipe at him but he easily slapped the weapon out of her exhausted hands. He wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed, turning her face red. Clear lashed at him with her bow and knocked him back. She swung the bow at them several times to show that one of them could still fight. The men took a step back, gathering themselves for another charge.

"Go!"

The call came not from the men, but from behind them. The men turned and one found himself knocked to the ground with a giant red welt on his face. The men drew weapons and practically snarled at the stranger, who was wearing very odd clothing. His jacket was blood red and the top half of his face was enshrouded by shadow cast by his silver and white hood. The stranger was in a sort of crouch, with one hand to the ground and the other clutching a black stick. One of the men with a knife stepped forward to engage him but fell back screaming and clutching his eye. Clear looked over the men's shoulders and saw the outline of a figure behind a dumpster, just at the entrance to the alley. There was a low spitting sound and another man fell, he too was clutching his face in pain. At this time the silver-hooded stranger was engaging the black-hooded men. He moved fast, blocking then charging one of the men. On his way to the ground the stranger slammed the tip of the stick into the man's throat. He stood up straight and smoothly pulled a large knife from a sheath on his leg. He stared at the remaining men with a frown, which suddenly curved upwards into a smile that seemed to be ear to ear. Clear shivered. That smile was the smile of a madman.

One of the men had charged the stranger at the end of the alley. When he got close there was a quiet spitting sound as the man fell on his back. The stranger was holding an odd looking weapon up in the air, near where the man's face had been. He dropped the weapon and drew another smaller one from his pocket. He ran over to join his companion, who was staring down the last man. Clear suddenly became aware of movement to her right. She turned to see Harmony charge the man, sword in hand. Her blade met his side and he fell screaming to the ground.

* * *

"And the rest you already know." Clear said, her hands folded over each other in her lap.

"Hey what did you mean by, 'madman'? I might get excited and adrenaline rushed, but mad? I'm not THAT far gone." Connor said, obviously hurt from the comment.

"You do tend to get carried away man, you punched a dude in the face today at airsoft and yelled 'YOU'RE OUT' quite loudly in his face." Gabriel said calmly.

"He was out and you know it! Freaking cheater," Connor grumbled.

"Anyway, it's probably best for us to hit the hay, I'm beat. Want to stay over till things settle down Gabe?" Connor asked. Gabriel shook his head.

"Nah I have to grab something from my apartment. I'll see ya tomorrow. Besides, I'm only one floor up."

"All right. Hey, since you two are sisters and all are you comfortable sharing a bed? All I got is the one and I'm willing to bet you don't want to split up between my place and Gabe's right now." Connor said.

"No please we couldn't take your bed! You've done so much for us already! We can sleep on the floor it's no problem at all!" Harmony said, but Connor was already shaking his head.

"If you don't take the bed I will wait till you're asleep and put you there myself. I mean it! No guest of mine will sleep on the floor!"

"You do realize how creepy that sounded right?" Clear asked.

"Who asked you Clear? What kind of a name is Clear anyway?" Connor said, attempting to defend his dignity.

"My dad named me Clear because it had been raining for a whole month and stopped on the day I was born. I was named after the clear skies on the day of my birth." Clear explained.

"My dad named me Harmony because he liked how it sounded." Harmony said with a small smile. "What about you? I haven't heard of the names Connor or Gabriel before. They are odd. Do they mean anything?"

Gabriel nodded and was about to explain when Connor spoke up.

"Yeah, my name is Irish for, "Lover of Hounds" and Gabriel was the name of an archangel in Catholic and Christian lore."

Clear smirked amusedly.

"Lover of Hounds and archangel huh? The beast and the angel." Connor furrowed his eyebrows when he heard Clear say that.

"What is it with you and derogatory remarks at me? First madman now I'm a beast? I don't know if I should be insulted or proud." Connor folded his arms and stared at her with mock anger.

"I don't mind being called an angel," Gabriel remarked with a smile.

"Yeah, I bet YOU would." Connor said cheekily. Gabriel kept his smile as he grabbed Connor's white and black hair and pushed him into a wall roughly. Connor started laughing and moved to the door, unlocking it for Gabriel. Gabriel moved to the door but pauses just before opening it.

"You know the name Clear is quite odd here. Maybe we should give you a different name while you're here, to help you fit in." Gabriel suggested. Clear crossed her arms, mulling over the idea of taking a new name.

"What about Harmony? Won't she need a new name too?" She asked. Connor rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Harmony could pass as normal here. I guess she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to."

"Thanks Connor. I like my name." Harmony said gratefully.

"Well what should my name be then?" Asked Clear, obviously not too happy with taking a new name. They all thought about it carefully, then Connor spoke up.

"Clarus is Latin for clear, how about that?" He asked. Gabriel looked up at him exasperated.

"Dude that's a word, not a name, besides it sounds like it would be a guys name."

"Fair enough. Hmmm... Well Clarissa is a German name derived from the word clarus so how about that?" Gabriel looked at him, his expression blank.

"How the hell do you know that off the top of your head?" He asked.

"What? You don't get bored?" Connor said, causing Gabriel to facepalm.

"Yes, I get bored. What I don't do when I'm bored is look up the meanings of random names!" Gabriel said through his hand. Connor just shrugged.

"No shame," he said simply.

"Clarissa, I guess I like it. Fine. Call me Clarissa for now. But I am Clear once we get out of here." She said firmly. Gabriel nodded and opened the door to leave. Gabriel left to go to his apartment, leaving Connor and the girls alone. Connor turned and clapped his hands together, a smile on his face.

"Alright! Harm, do you remember where the bedroom is?" He asked. Harmony blushed at the thought that she had already been in his bed.

"Uh, yeah. Come on Cle...uh, Clarissa. And don't call me Harm." She said.

"Sure thing Harm, show Clary to her room while I get some of this gear off of me. I've been wearing it all day." The girls sighed and nodded, both realizing that arguing with him on their nicknames wouldn't get them anywhere.

Harmony lead Clary over to the bedroom while Connor took off his gear. His vest was still in the car along with his guns. Gabriel's guns were in there too now that he thought about it. He'd get them later. Connor took off his crimson leather jacket and hung it on the back of a chair to dry. He took off his knee pads and the rest of his gear, leaving him standing there in a black sports tank top, black cargo pants, and a silver and black sleeveless hoodie. As an afterthought he took off the black neck gater he had wrapped around his neck. He walked into his kitchen area and got a cup with and words, "Greatest Sniper Ever" on it.

The cup was a joke since in that game a sniper on the other team was constantly dying from Connor's shotgun. They laughed over a sniper dying by a shotgun over and over and the sniper gave Connor his cup out of goodwill. Connor went to the fridge and filled the cup halfway with Root Beer and half with Dr. Pepper. Then he went to a cupboard and got out some pepper, shaking a bit into the drink. As a final touch he reached into the fridge and got out a small bottle of whiskey. He put a very tiny bit of the whiskey into his drink and swirled it around with a spoon. He took a big swill and gasped as the drink burned its way down his parched throat. He shook his head to clear away the dots that swam into his vision and went back into the living room.

 _Better give the girls some time to adjust._ He thought. He slouched back in the chair and arched his back, very audible cracks came from it.

 _I really need to get this looked at,_ he thought with a grimace. He got up and started stretching his muscles, some bones and joints cracking every now and then.

"Hey Connor? Do you happen to have anything that we could change int-uh..." Harmony stuttered. Connor was standing and was stretching his arms above his head. His muscles had been hidden underneath his gear, which actually gave her the first impression that he was pretty chubby. Seeing someone that she had thought to be overweight stretching muscles that she had seen on warrior trainees was a bit of a shock at first, she hadn't prepared herself for it. Connor looked at her sideways and stopped stretching, which disappointed Harmony a bit.

"Do I have what?" He asked.

"Uh, do you have any six pa-uh I mean clothes! That we could change into?" Harmony stuttered, a blush rising on her cheeks. Connor thought for a moment, trying to think if he had any clothes for them to use.

"I don't get girls in this apartment too often, might have to ask Gabe," he said.

"Why would Gabriel have clothes for us?" Harmony asked.

"Oh, the woman who gave him the apartment left some of her clothes there. Gabriel is known to forget about throwing out junk. Heh, I found a soda sitting on a shelf that had expired over 4 years ago once at his old house."

"Oh," Harmony said.

"I'll be right back, don't answer the door and don't leave!" Connor said as he jogged over to the door. After he left Harmony let out a breathe she didn't know she had been holding. She put a hand on her forehead and walked back into the room with Clary. Clary was laying on a bed with her hands behind her head. She glanced over to Harmony and saw that she was a little out of breath.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"I-I don't know! I don't feel too well," she said, sweat beginning to fall down her forehead. Harmony seized up suddenly and then sneezed into her arm. Clarissa got up and went over to her sister. She threw a blanket around Harmony, who was now shivering. Once Clarissa got Harmony into the bed and tucked in tight she went in to the living room to wait for Connor to return. She sat on the couch and sank deep into the cushions.

 _Wow,_ she thought. _This is the most comfortable thing I've ever sat on!_

She lay her head back, exhausted still from the events of that night. Outside the window the sun was beginning to rise. Clarissa watched the sky turn from dark to a light peach color and felt her eyelids getting heavy. She didn't fight it. She let the sleep envelope her like a blanket, ending a very, very long night.


	3. Chapter 3

Connor left the girls in the apartment to head up to Gabe's apartment.

 _'I don't like lying to them, but how do you explain something like that to them? I don't know how I'll convince him to let me anywhere near them. If he hasn't touched them since...that time...what would it take to get to them now?'_

He thought all this while jogging up the stairs to the apartment directly above him. Once he got there he knocked on the door and waited for an answer. After a second the door cracked open and Gabriel's head peeked out from behind it. When he saw the stupid smile on Connor's face he sighed and closed the door again. Connor stood there, not moving an inch, the same stupid smile on his face all the while. The sound of several types of locks including some electronic beeps came from behind the door and then it clicked open. Connor pushed the door in and entered Gabriel's flat.

His apartment was the same layout as Connor's, but the furniture and the wall decorations were very different. Gabriel had a whole corner sectioned off for his super computer. The window next to it cracked open to let out the heat generated by the monster computer. Six screens sat in rows of three facing the corner, a swivel chair with what looked like very expensive cushions sat in front of them. The keyboard emitted a bright green glow like the mouse, except the mouse glowed a bright blue. Gabriel was standing there in his t-shirt and camo pants, his gear thrown in a pile on the couch. Connor knew it would get back in its footlocker all neat and folded by morning, but for the moment Gabe seemed to be in slob mode. Gabriel himself was tapping his toe impatiently, waiting for Connor to say something.

"Well? You looking for something?" He asked.

"Er, well...You see the thing is...Gah forget it, I'm not good at sugarcoating," Connor began, giving up on trying to do this slow.

"The girls need something to change into until we can go shopping to get them some clothes fit for them, so..." Gabriel was now statue still, he had a feeling he knew where this was going. He wasn't sure he liked it.

"Mind if I borrow her clothes for now? I know the girls would really appreciate it! Their clothes are practically soaking and I don't have anything that might fit them and warm them up, so, would you mind?" Connor braced himself for a punch but was surprised to find himself black-eye-free. He opened one eye to look at Gabriel.

Then he got a black eye.

Connor reeled back towards the door. He looked up and saw Gabriel storming up to him. He threw a wad of clothes at Connor with enough force to send him stumbling back through the door. Holding the clothes he looked back up and saw a very mad Gabriel just in time to get the door slammed on his face. Connor sighed.

"That went better than I thought," he said. He looked down and realized he wasn't holding Gabriel's airsoft clothes, he was holding girl's clothes. Connor smiled.

 _'Big tough softie,'_ he thought. With the clothes in tow he went back down to his apartment. He went in and locked the door behind him.

"Hey! I got some new clothes for you girls! They might fit you, but they might not. Tomorrow we'll go out shopping and get you some real clothes alright?"

Clarissa came around the corner and saw him standing there with the clothes. She looked worried. Connor's smile disappeared.

"What's wrong?" He asked. She shook her head and gestured to his room. He put the clothes down and went in to see what the problem was. He walked in and saw Harmony laying in bed, covers tucked in around her. She was sweating profusely and looked to be having trouble breathing. He quickly went to her and pulled the covers off her. Clarissa watched as he lifted her head up and put a few pillows under her head and back to elevate her. He switched off the lamp and turned on the fan to high. He entered the bathroom and rummaged around in some drawers. He came back out with a wet towel and a bottle of some kind. He put the towel on her forehead and used a glass of water sitting on the nightstand to help her swallow the pills from the bottle. She coughed most of the water out, some of it on Connor's face. He didn't seem to mind as he went about his way caring for her. Clarissa could only stand and watch, she apparently had no idea what to do.

Connor stopped and looked at her.

"There are some clothes back in the main room. Choose what you want to wear and go ahead and put em' on. Don't worry about privacy, I won't leave the room till you're ready and all the windows and blinds are closed." Clarissa nodded and left the room, hesitating only to look back worriedly at her sister and the stranger who had done so much for them. She left the room and closed the door behind her. Connor focused his attention back on Harmony, who's breathing was beginning to steady.

 _'Wow, she fights off sickness really quick,'_ he thought. He cracked a window above the bed to get some fresh air in but quickly shut it when a cloud of pollution came right in his face. He coughed and waved his hand. He aborted the idea and went to get an odd looking device from the nightstand. It looked like a white metallic sphere with a black spot on the top. Connor pressed it and the black spot opened up like a door and a white mist began to come out. In a few seconds the smell of pollution and dirty air was gone, replaced by the scent of fresh roses. He got up and went to his closet. He opened the doors and turned on the light.

The closet had a small section to the left for his normal clothes. The other 80% of the closet was full of combat gear. Different camo clothes and tactical vests hung on hangers and about 4 different kinds of guns hung from a rack on the back wall, two for airsoft and two for the range. A vast assortment of swords, knives, machetes, and other sharp and some blunt melee weapons hung on the walls, sat in open footlockers, and leaned up against the wall. Connor kicked off his boots and pulled off his shirt, which was heavy with sweat and rain. He tossed it into a bin and pulled out a new one. This shirt was white and was made of some kind of thin flexible material that fit snugly to his form. He had thought about enlisting with the Marines at one point but now he just didn't care. He wouldn't be able to stop all the crap going on in the world, no one could. Even with the major terrorist factions gone their ideology remained, and that was all it took to make a new cell of terrorists. It just didn't stop.

 _'Ever since a massive outbreak in the Middle East of some new virus that had a 90% mortality rate the U.S. has tightened security on all levels in case a terrorist cell tries to get the virus into a city. After the president's assassination in 2020 there has been a massive movement for finding and eliminating all terrorist opposition. President Hurtt and his Secretary of War, General Alba, are doing a fantastic job of, "cleanup," as they call it. But something is off. First the virus, then barely a month later two strange girls appear and they are being hunted by the biggest gang in the nation. It couldn't be coincidence. Maybe...'_

"Ugh,"

Connor's thoughts were interrupted by a moaning coming from behind him.

"Shade? Shade? You there?" Harmony moaned out softly. Connor strode over and sat down on the bed. He removed the towel and put the back of his hand to her head. It was cool to the touch, sweaty in fact.

"Sha-, hmm, no he isn't here. Ah! Good, good. Your fever broke. With the covers off and the fan on you should be cooled down fairly quickly."

"What? Connor? I-uh, oh my head..." she rambled off. Connor chuckled.

"You just fought off a fever in world record time, your story is starting to grow on me. The Impossible Girl, could we change your name to that?" He said teasingly. He grinned when she tried to slap him.

"Shuddup willya? Head hurts. Need to sleep." She said. He got up and walked back over to the closet.

"Alright, just call out if you need anything at all, alright? Clarissa is in the other room getting changed. Once you're feeling up to it you can change as well. I'd prefer it if you had your sopping wet clothes off sooner and replaced with dry ones so your fever wouldn't get any worse but looks like you fought it off all on your own in less than fifteen minutes! Clarissa should be done by now but just in case I'll be staying in here until she gives me the OK. OK?"

"Yeah, alright," she said, not noticing that he basically just said that he wanted her to take her clothes off. With that she drifted off to sleep, her breathing becoming steady and soft. Connor watched her for awhile, she really was cute when she slept. He looked back into the closet and pulled out a new pair of pants. He replaced his black cargo pants with winter camo cargo shorts. He went over to the door and knocked a few times.

"Hey, Clary. You done yet? I have to ask you about Harm's sickness." He asked. There was a dull thud on the other side of the door and then some hurried footsteps. The door was flung open, hitting Connor in the side of the face.

"Is she alright?" She asked, showing no concern for Connor or the red welt manifesting on his face. Connor used his hand to crack his jaw and neck, getting everything back into alignment.

"Yeah, she's fine. Better than fine actually. What I wanted to ask is how was she able to fight off the fever so quickly? It's inhuman!"

Clarissa put her hand to her chin in thought. Then she slapped her head in exasperation.

"Oh duh! She is immune to sickness! Like I am! I guess that's why her getting sick was so confusing for me. I have never seen her sick!"

Connor looked at her funny.

"Immune. To sickness. Like, ALL sickness? How the hell is that possible?" He asked incredulously. Clarissa put her hands on her hips and looked down with a smile, her eyes closed. When she looked up she held a finger up and explained.

"You see, she's part of the Wither clan! Her clan invented the Sickness! It was mainly used to control the Pigmen population but mutated and somehow spread all over both the Nether and the Overworld. Being a member of the clan that invented the worst disease in the known universe has its perks! Like how she was immunized to disease at birth! There must have been something in the foul air here that got past her immune system for a few minutes before it was destroyed. By the way, why is the air here so brown and foul smelling?"

Connor looked at her blankly.

"Uh, Wither? Sickness? Pigmen? Nevermind the pollution where exactly did you come from?" He asked her. She looked at him with an odd look.

"Well, from the Skeleton clan of course!" She said as if that explained everything. Connor shook his head.

"No I mean from what country? State? Province? Planet even?!"

She looked at him with an even more confused expression.

"What is a country, state, province, and planet? We live in separated biomes, but there is no name for all of the land as a whole."

"..."

"What?"

"...Come with me," Connor said. He grabbed her arm and pulled her over to his computer, to which she complained quite a bit. He let go of her arm and ignored the punch he received. He sat down and brought up his main screen. He clicked on several icons and different screens came up. Finally one popped up, it had the word _Minecraft_ written in large letters across the top. In smaller print underneath next to it the words, "Version 80.0" were clearly visible. He clicked a few more icons and Clarissa gasped. There were rolling hills, mountains, a snow biome in the distance, and what looked to be giant trees off into the horizon. Connor looked up and there were giant whale-like creatures flying through the sky. What used to be a blocky world had been repeatedly updated. After all of the items and creatures had been added in the developers had begun to focus on the graphics. Over time they transitioned from their signature block world to a more realistic view. Everything moved and looked as if it was a real world on the other side of the screen.

"T-thats..." Clarissa began.

"Your home." Connor said, looking up at her with a blank expression.

"B-but how? Why? What is?" Clarissa was at a loss for words.

"Why is your world in a virtual game?" Connor suggested. She looked at him confusedly. He sighed and pulled out his phone. He punched a few numbers in and waited for the receiver to pick up.

"Hey, Gabe? Yeah I need you down here now. I don't care. Right now. I figured out where they claim to be from, and you won't believe it either but I can't explain all on my own. Alright. See you in a sec." He hung up and leaned back in his chair. He showed Clarissa the controls and got out of the seat for her. She sat down, still in shock, and started moving around in-game. Connor walked a few steps toward the kitchen when he suddenly halted mid-step. A dull drumming sound came to his ears.

 _Ah shit, not again. Not again!_ He thought desperately.

He groaned and bent over, hands clutching the sides of his head. The drumming got louder, and louder, and louder. Soon the sound was tearing his head apart, he felt like his skin was boiling, his eyes were drying into deserts, his brain was being turned to mush. He fell to his knees and clutched tighter to his head. He desperately tried to fight it off, to squelch the sound back down into the lowest pits of his being as he had done so many times before.

But it wasn't working.

 _Make him stop! Make him stop! Make him stop now!_ He screamed in his head. Then, as always, a clear, calm voice spoke amid the chaos.

 _ **As you wish.**_

And just like that, the sound was gone. A piercing migraine was all that remained of the torture that he endured. He opened his eyes and found himself on his knees in a fetal position, his head resting on the floor. He waited for the spots to swim out of his vision before getting up, slowly. He used the wall to support him until he was back in control of his faculties. He looked back. Clarissa hadn't moved. Good. He didn't want to have to explain what just happened to her right now. The whole other universe thing is complicated enough. Connor walked over to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen and grabbed some migraine meds, which he popped down dry. Then he went over to the couch and fell down on it heavily.

' _It's getting worse,'_ he thought. He sat with his arm over his eyes waiting for the migraine to stop.

A few minutes later Gabriel knocked on the door. Connor got up and unlocked the door for him. He gave Gabriel a tired look and waved him in. On their way over to Clarissa Harmony came out of the bedroom, wrapped again in the sheets. Connor reached down and grabbed the clothes from the couch and tossed them to her. She grabbed them and looked at them quizzically.

"Try em' on. See if they fit." Connor said. She nodded and went back in the bedroom, still eyeing the clothes. Clarissa was wearing a simple yet flattering white t-shirt and skinny blue jeans. The clothes weren't an exact fit, they were a little long. They'd do for now though. Connor brought Gabriel over to the other side of Clarissa and took in a breath.

"So, the girls are apparently from Minecraft," he said.

"You're not one to smooth over things are you?" Clarissa asked, her eyes still roaming the screen.

"Nope."

"Hold on, what do you mean by that? Stop screwing around where did they come from?" Gabriel asked. Connor pointed to the screen.

"You-you're serious?" He asked. Connor nodded solemnly. Clarissa was chopping down a tree.

"That, that can't be right. How is that even possible? I figured their whole story was just a dream or an illusion of some kind. That would make a bit of sense, but this?" He looked at the screen.

"This is insane."

Connor nodded and watched Clarissa explore more.

"If you think its hard for you to wrap your head around, what do you think she's going through? Her whole life, just a video game. She must be so confused and lost right now." Connor said.

"Nah, I came to accept it about 10 minutes ago. Now I'm just playing around because it's fun." Clarissa said nonchalantly. Connor looked to be at a loss for words and Gabriel was stifling a laugh.

"Well, alright then. You're fine with it. How do you think Harm is going to take it?" He asked her. She shrugged and killed a pig with a wooden spear. Connor sighed and looked at Gabriel.

"You doin' alright with this news? It's easier for me to accept it because I already believe in multiple universes being intertwined by some kind of cosmic energy. I figured that god or whatever just sent them through the energy to our world and dropped them off here. But how are you taking it?"

Gabriel shrugged.

"I guess I'll believe it for now, even if it's insane and sounds like something from ."

Connor reached behind him and knocked on the wall four times. Gabriel looked at him confused but quickly realized that he didn't care. They went back to watching Clarissa explore her old world. A few minutes later Harmony came out in her Earth clothes. She was wearing a tight red v-neck and black cargo shorts that looked a little too big for her. Connor raised an eyebrow.

"Are those my shorts?" He asked. She looked down and then looked back at him.

"And your belt." She said.

"Was there something wrong with the ones we gave to you?" He asked.

"No." She said.

"..."

"..."

"Sooooo..."

Harmony sighed, exasperated.

"I didn't like the ones you gave me. They were way too short and constricting."

"They looked alot like the ones you wore before, what's the difference? I don't mind you wearing my clothes, its just a little weird for your first night here. Should at least let me buy you dinner first." He said smugly. She blushed lightly and walked quickly past him and over to Clarissa, who was snickering.

"Shut up. I didn't like them so I improvised. I have no shame in that." She said defensively. Connor looked at her with an amused expression. Gabriel sighed.

"Stop teasing her man," he said.

"What? I said I didn't have a problem with it!" Connor said with a smile. Harmony just looked at the screen, not meeting his eyes to avoid his noticing the coloration on her cheeks.

' _Gah, you'll never change Connor. You're doomed to forever be an asshole.'_ Gabriel thought. Gabriel took his place on the other side of Clarissa, the three of them watching her build a house.

"So, if I understand correctly, you come from Minecraft. A virtual world that people here play as a game. My theory is that this "god" is Herobrine. Although I never heard any stories of the man having those sorts of power. Worst case I heard of is his crashing of a computer. Maybe the updates gave him some sort of new power, but that's irrelevant. The point is that he can send people between worlds. Odd since this should be impossible." Connor paced back and forth, talking aloud.

"You seem to have accepted this very quickly." Clarissa said to him.

"Well, I've often thought about what the universe holds and what is beyond it. This actually comes very close to one of my theories. Also, I figure if you're lying you have a good reason for doing so." He replied.

"Uh, how can our world be a game? Like, how did your people make a game based on our world?" Harmony asked. Gabriel thought for a moment before replying.

"It's possible that the developers, or at least one of them, was transported to Minecraft by Herobrine and they simply thought it was a dream." Gabriel looked over at Connor.

"Thoughts?" He asked. Connor thought some more.

"We can't know anything for sure. Right now I guess there's only one question that really matters," he looked at the girls until he got their full attention.

"Do you want to go back?"

"Of course I want to go back, this place is foul and gross. I miss the forests and fresh air." Clarissa said. She looked at Harmony expectantly.

"Uh, yeah. I guess I do too. Do, do you guys want to come with us? I mean, from what we've seen this world is harsh and dying. Do you really want to stay here?" Harmony asked the boys. They traded looks. If they had the chance, would they leave? Their family, friends, the life they had been working so hard to build despite the harshness of the world, could they really just leave it all behind? Gabriel was the first to speak.

"I don't know. This is all we know, our friends and family are still here so we can't just leave them." Connor was silent for a little while. They looked at him, waiting for his answer. Finally, he looked up at them.

"I want out. I hate this place all to hell. The world is falling apart and I don't want anything more to do with it. If we can we could try to get Martin and the others out of here too, but they still have families like Gabe. I…don't have that luxury anymore." Gabriel looked at him confusedly.

"What do you mean? You're family is fine!" He said, but Connor just shook his head.

"Actually, they're all pretty much dead and gone. My cousins left the country, my grandparents are all dead, and my folks died a week ago from a mugging. My little sis is in a coma from a Shuma smoke grenade exploding right in her face and she doesn't have more than a week left. I'm pretty much alone now." Connor said it all in monotone, not showing any emotion towards the death of his parents and the imminent death of his little sister, all traces of the humor he had just a moment ago were gone. Gabriel was shocked beyond words, this was the first he had heard of this! The girls exchanged glances and Clarissa cleared her throat.

"So, I guess that settles it for you. If…when we find a way back we will try to take you with us. Gabriel, you can take as long as you want to decide. There's no rush as far as I can see." Gabriel nodded, still in shocked silence. They all stopped talking for a few minutes in awkward silence.

"Well, I guess first things first. It's just about morning and the shops will open soon. It's time to take you girls shopping in the big city. Er, wear hoods or something though. The Shuma will still be looking for you." Connor said. Gabriel seemed to have pushed his disturbance with what happened to Connor's family back for now, it was no use dwelling on it now.

"The mall would probably be the best place to start. Let them window shop until they find things they like. I'll ask my dad to wire me some cash for the trip since I know you don't have enough to cover two girls on a spree in the mall."

"True, true."

"So, you girls feeling up to it? Want to go back out into the big bad world of Earth?" Gabriel asked them, a small grin on his face. They nodded, ready to move on from this very informational and awkward night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Finally! I finally got a chance to write and not have to study for semester finals! Which are now over! Yes! Sorry for not uploading anything recently, school and all. You know. Anyway, chapter 4! If there are any plot holes or grammar errors or anything of the like please let me know! Also, be sure to provide me with OCs. They can be mob talker mobs or just a regular person. And please, give me OCs in the reviews. That way other people can see them and have an idea of what to put down. Which is basically just name, appearance, and general behavior. I've found that asking for backstories just makes writing my story harder so just what I mentioned would be nice. Thanks again and I hope you like it!**

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Connor asked them. The girls shifted uncomfortably, not quite used to this style of dress.

"I'm not sure I like this, the sleeves cover most of my hands and it reaches down a bit farther than my waist." Clarissa said, her discomfort in the white hoodie obvious.

"I don't mind it, it's quite comfortable actually!" Harmony said cheefully, giving a light twirl in the black hoodie that was even looser on her than Clarissa's was. Connor looked them over again to find anything he may have missed. He figured since it was dark out when the girls were chased the Shuma didn't have much to go on, just two girls with black and white hair. Harmony would probably be fine, as long as she plays off as a weak willed girl who relies on her brothers for help. They had agreed that Connor and Gabriel would pass as brothers and the girls were their sisters. If genetics were inquired they would go with the 'adopted' line. To hide their hair Connor had them put on hoodies. A white one for Clarissa and a black one for Harmony. Connor himself hadn't changed from last night and was waiting for Gabriel to get there so he could change.

 _Knock knock knock_

As if on cue, there were three short knocks of the door. Connor went to let Gabriel in and they all sat down in the living room to go back over the plan.

"Alright, so passing off as siblings we will go to the nearby Wal-Mart and get the girls some new clothes and hair dye." Gabriel said.

"What's hair dye?" Asked Clarissa. Gabriel explained that it was artificial coloring for people's hair. It wasn't permanent or harmful and was necessary for them to avoid suspicion. She, albeit grudgingly, accepted it. Connor left them to head back and get ready, since it was going to be cold today and he was wearing a t-shirt.

He went back to his room and looked over his assorted jackets. He chose to wear an imported olive-drab green jacket from China with angled sleeve ends and pocket covers. He flipped the back of the collar up and pressed the ends down. He left it partially unzipped, his simple silver chain necklace hanging around his neck. He put on a black skull cap that didn't cover all of his white hair and pulled on his black leather boots. He got up and rifled through his drawer until he found a pair of black leather fingerless studded gloves that were made by his father. He reached in a drawer and grabbed a pair of black cargo pants. Yes, that was pretty much all he had as far as pants went. He slipped them on and walked out.

With that done, the four young people walked out to Connor's old but reliable X-Terra. It had more dents in it from hail and some airsoft pockmarks but aside from the occasional fender bender it had had no real accidents. Connor affectionately dubbed it the, "Golf-Ball." The drive to the store was quick and uneventful, but a bit nerve wracking whenever they passed any gangsters.

The ride was filled with the girl's questions about this new world they were in and Gabriel answered them patiently with Connor getting a word in every now and then. They pulled up in a spot close to the doors and got out.

"So the air is disgusting because of these Shuma punks?" Clarissa asked.

"Well, they certainly aren't helping. Whenever cops show up they toss those cheap gas grenades Connor mentiond that cover their escape and make the air nasty. Before that though there were factories that spewed even nastier crap into the atmosphere." Gabriel explained.

"I don't understand, why have your people killed this world? It must've been beautiful once." Harmony said.

"It was, and still is in some places. This city in particular is bad but there are places with fresh, unspoiled air. I've actually considered moving somewhere cleaner but I'm still in school." Connor said. Gabriel looked at Connor with a sideways glance.

"By the way, don't you have classes today?" He asked.

"Yeah, but it's college. I'll get the whole class later on the university website. Besides, this is more important."

"Mmm." Gabriel mused.

They toured the store with the girls, stopping at almost every corner to explain what each object's purpose was and why some cost more than others. Gabriel patiently answered their questions and Connor found it amusing how pre-school these questions would appear to other people, who did in fact notice the oddly dressed young adults. The girls took like, 30 minutes admiring the fish in the pet department. After buying Harmony a small goldfish with big auburn eyes and a white stripe running from its head to its tail they moved on.

"This is more fun than I thought it was going to be." Connor whispered to Gabriel as the girls adored over the tiny fish in the plastic bag. Gabriel chuckled and agreed. After some more walking around they got to the cosmetics department. They spent some time finding hair dye Clarissa liked. She finally decided on a hair dye when she thought of something.

"Hey, why do I have to cover my white hair when Connor doesn't? He has white hair too." Connor crossed his arms and leaned against a shelf.

"Because I didn't make myself a target for the most dangerous gang in the nation. And this isn't even my natural hair color. I use dye." He said.

"Why?" Asked Harmony.

"It's his distinguishing mark. He dyed it white for a while and when he was noticed by a fan of ours he decided to keep it." Gabriel said.

"Fan? Why do you guys have fans?" Clarissa asked.

"Gabriel and I are in a band called _Of Mobs and Men_ that plays every now and then at parties and malls. A shop may request us to play to bring in customers or something. Little stuff like that, we aren't recognized outside of the city." Connor explained.

"Mobs? Like, skeletons and zombies and stuff like that?" Harmony asked. Connor shook his head.

"Nah, mobs like in a riot."

"Oh, well what is a band?" She asked him.

Gabriel explained to the girls what a band was and what they did while Connor walked off a bit to check out nearby isles. He leaned out and looked around when he saw them.

Shuma.

There were two young men and one older man. They all wore hoodies with the hood cast over. One of the young ones had a red flat-rim cap and the other was shuffling about nervously, casting glances over his shoulders and never quite standing still. The older one had dark hair with about a months growth of beard. He had a scar on his right cheek that ran from his ear to his jaw line. He looked to be in his late thirties or early forties.

Old gang members were a rare sight here, considering how most either die off or leave once they come to their senses. This meant this man was dangerous.

A young woman who was fussing with her kid walked past them until the older one grabbed her shoulder and asked her something, holding up a paper for her to look at. The woman shook her head and moved on at a faster pace than before. The man put his hands down to his sides and Connor saw the paper. It was a screenshot, probably taken from a phone or a cheap camera.

It was a picture of two girls running in poor light, but you could still make out their faces clearly. And one had white hair.

Connor backed up and rushed to the others, who were discussing what different types of music there was.

"Guys, we gotta leave. Now." Connor said in a hushed but rushed tone.

"What's wrong?" Asked Gabriel.

"Shuma are here. They have a picture of Clary and Harm's faces! The dye won't be enough now. We HAVE to get them out of the city!"

The girls looked at each other in alarm.

Gabriel seemed to debate this before nodding in approval.

"Alright, but where do we take them?" He asked.

"I got a place. Took some work but I have it all figured out. Let's head back to our place and pack real quick." Connor said. They nodded and were about to leave the isle away from the men when they heard a shout from behind them.

"Hey! I found them!"

They turned and found Jumpy the gangster pointing at them while hopping from one foot to the other. The other two came rushing around the corner but stopped when they saw the posse of wanted offenders. They smiled, revealing that Red-Cap had several silver teeth. Scar made his way towards them slowly, his minions following close behind. Scar pulled out a butterfly knife and flipped it around in his hands while Red-Cap put on brass knuckles and Jumpy injected himself with a white syringe. Jumpy started twitching everywhere and his eyes grew real big to match the giant, almost cheek splitting grin on his hideous face.

"Go." Gabriel urged. They started backing up slowly, unconsciously matching the pace set by the gangsters.

"Go!" He yelled louder. They all turned and ran for the exit, dodging very startled and some angry people until the gangsters showed up behind them. Then everyone was suddenly blind and deaf.

No words were spoken by either party, as they were too focused on running. Connor heard a whooshing sound and turned just in time to dodge Scar's knife, which he had thrown. The knife whipped past his face and buried itself in a wall. Connor stopped to snatch the knife from the wall. When he turned he saw Jumpy approaching at a ridiculous speed. He was practically leaping at them on his hands and feet like a dog, but he was leaving his companions in the dust. Connor sprinted to catch up with his friends. When they had to turn a corner he stopped and crouched. When Jumpy came around the corner Connor leapt at him and drove the knife into his gut. Connor landed on his feet and clutched the knife as Jumpy fell on his side and slid a few feet, whimpering. Connor looked back and saw the other two were almost on him! Dropping the knife he turned on his heel and beat feet out of there.

They piled into the car and the old offroader peeled out of the parking lot and made for the street.

"They still following us?" Connor asked worriedly from the driver seat. Gabriel, Harmony, and Clarissa scanned behind them for any signs of pursuit.

"I think we're good man. Lets get out of here." Gabriel said.

They were on the road for a little over 15 minutes when Connor missed the exit to take them to the apartments.

"Uh, hey dude. Don't flip out but you missed the exit." Gabriel said.

"Yeah, I know." Connor said, not taking his eyes off the road. Gabriel opened his mouth to say something but stopped. After a few moments of awkward silence Connor broke the ice.

"It was a camera."

'"Huh?"' All three asked at once.

"In your story. One of the Shuma pointed an object at you while in a car. I thought it was a gun. It was a camera." He said.

"So…wait. That means that…" Harmony began before Connor violently slammed his fist on the steering wheel. She jumped in her seat and hugged her little fish bag tighter.

"DAMMIT!" He yelled in frustration.

"Hey dude, calm down.." Gabriel started.

"No, no I won't. Our plan worked as long as the only thing they had to go on was white hair. Now they have a full image of both of their faces. And now they know what WE look like. Especially me. This stupid cap doesn't cover all of my hair so they damn well saw that it was white! With their connections I'd be surprised if we didn't return home to find a dozen Shuma with automatic rifles on our front doors!" Connor exclaimed angrily. His face was red and his eyebrows knit together in extreme frustration.

"Well then we better get going before they get there! My baby is there and I ain't leavin' her behind!" Gabriel said, panicked.

"I don't care what it is we can't go now! They'll be waiting for us! We have to wait till nightfall to even get close!" Connor exclaimed.

"Not good enough. We need to go, now! If they lay one soiled finger on her I swear there will be hell to pay!" Gabriel ranted. Connor was perplexed for a moment before he visualized Gabriel's cluttered room and the glowing neon gem that sat in the corner.

"Your computer?! That's what you're all in a huff about?! My life isn't worth one stinking computer!" Connor said angrily.

"She's not just a computer! She has 2x1 TB hard drives, a 1x250 SSD…"

"You're computer has STDs?" Connor asked with a disbelieving look on his face. Gabriel sighed.

"I said S-S-D, not S-T-D. It means..."

"Yeah whatever, point is that it can wait. We go now we not only put ourselves at risk but them too." Connor said, jerking a thumb towards the backseats. Gabriel turned and found two very distressed looking girls and one very frightened goldfish who were in no shape to fight. Gabriel sighed and turned back to the road in front of them.

"Fine, but we ARE going back at some point. I can't afford the time or money to build a new one."

"Yeah, sure man. I got stuff I need to grab too." Connor said, his voice lowering a few tones.

"Uh, so…" Harmony began again. When she wasn't interrupted she continued, albeit hesitantly.

"S-so where are we going now?" She asked in a small voice.

"Someplace safe." Was all Connor said. They eventually left the city behind and were greeted with a blue sky and golden pastures of wheat and grain. The girls were practically glued to the windows, taking in everything.

"It's like a whole other world…" Harmony said wonderingly.

"Uh, isn't YOUR world exactly like this? One step and suddenly you're out of the desert and in a winter wonderland." Gabriel said.

"Fair enough," she replied.

The drive took them clear out of the city and lasted for a few hours. They had to stop and let the girls stretch a bit every 30 minutes or so, but neither of the guys really minded. The stops were good for them too, albeit for different reasons. The sky began to darken as afternoon began to transition to twilight.

Connor pulled them off the main road and followed a dirt road into a small forest. The trees were so dense nobody in the car could see the house until they came around the corner. It was pretty impressive, two stories high with a skylight on the second floor and balconies on the front and back. The house was in good condition. The wood walls had been recently repaired with fresh wood and paint and it looked pretty cozy.

There was a brick fireplace coming out of the roof just off the center of the house. The back of the house faced a slope with a wooden staircase that led down to a surprisingly clean beach that stretched all the way around the giant lake. There were no trees behind the house so it was fully visible from the lakeside but was still partly cast in shadow by the trees. They got out of the car and let Connor take the lead.

They walked up the slightly overgrown lawn and reached the porch.

"Uh, dude. Who's house is this?" Gabriel asked incredulously. Connor looked back at him before reaching over and moving his fingers behind a loose panel of wood by the door.

"It's mine." He said as he fished the key out from the wall. He unlocked the door and walked in, leaving three gaping mouths on the porch behind him. Well, four mouths if you counted the fish. After they processed this they followed him inside and closed the door. Connor busied himself walking about the house; turning on lights, air conditioners, and the like. The three teens walked around aimlessly, looking around the place.

It was rather large. The first floor, starting at the door, opened out to a small square gathering area three steps down. It had one couch that covered two corners of the square and faced the small coffee table, fireplace, and the HD TV that hung above the fireplace. The fireplace was embedded in a wall that separated the main area from the dining area, which was also part of a small kitchen with white tile floors and black marble counter-tops. A large crystal chandelier hung over the main area.

To the left of the main area was a small living room with a large curved window and a table with eight chairs. A multicolored rug was set over the dark wooden flooring. There was also a staircase that led up above the main area and onto the second floor. Directly across from the main area was a door that presumably led to the porch and the staircase that went down to the beach.

All three guests marveled at the hidden house. Gabriel ran his hand over the glass table in the main area.

"Connor, what did you mean by, 'this is your house?'" He asked. Connor was heading over to the stairs.

"I meant that I own it. Well, inherited it really. My great great grandfather built it. Then his son, my great grandfather, inherited it and continued its construction. Then my grandfather, then my father, and then on to me. I consider myself lucky that dad managed to finish installing all of the new appliances and tech so I won't have to worry about that. There's a basement, well a bunker really, with numerous top of the line generators connected to a variety of solar panels that are hidden in the tops of the surrounding trees. My dad had the idea of growing vines up certain trees to hide the cables coming out of the ground and there are no legal documents concerning the ownership of this house; it's completely off the grid."

"Uh, how are there no legal documents of it?" Gabriel asked confused.

"My great great grandfather found this place and built it in secret. Cleared the land and everything all by himself until he married and had a wife to help him. No one has concerned themselves about it since it isn't visible from the air due to thick tree cover and an intricate layer of camouflage on the roof." At this point Connor had reached the top floor and leaned against a railing that overlooked the door. He looked down and saw Gabriel messing with the fireplace.

"Lift the glass off the table and there's a button. Press it and the table will open up into a small fireplace." He said. Gabriel looked back at the table and noticed a small black button under the raised glass. Connor noticed Harmony inspecting a wall with several ancient swords and rifles hung on the wall.

"Those are like, really really old so be careful. And don't touch that rapier with the gold hilt. It's…special." Connor advised the black haired girl, who was slowly taking her hand away from the rapier. Clarissa was out of sight but Connor wasn't concerned. This place was well hidden and she probably just went out back for a minute. They wandered the house, getting a feel for their new home.

The second floor, Harmony found out, was partly one long hallway with the stairs leading to its center. The hallway's roof was just one long skylight, revealing the darkening sky above them. The skylight was the only piece of the roof not covered with camouflage or covered by overhanging branches, but the carpet was colored in such a way that it didn't really matter. The hallway lead to several rooms.

There were four bedrooms in total. There were 2 bathrooms between them; each with doors that lead into the bedrooms next to them. The bedrooms and bathrooms were simple and plain, with little in the way of decoration. There was one large room on both ends of the hallway, each identical in structure.

They had a slanted ceiling and a small, circular windowed alcove in the wall with pillows. There was a blue couch in one with a red blanket laying on it and a red couch with a blue blanket in the other. There was a set of computers in each room with a TV on the wall facing the couch. The couch could fold out into a bed and had pillows already waiting next to it. In each room was a door that lead out to the balcony.

The balcony was large and had enough room for a grill, a wooden picnic table, and a medium sized locker with yoga mats, weights, an assortment of balls, and other supplies of the like.

Connor and the others met up in the main area after they had inspected everything. Connor splayed out lazily on a couch while Gabriel, Harmony, and Clarissa sat on the opposite couch. Connor spread out his hands and gestured around him.

"Well, whatcha think?" He asked with a grin. Gabriel shook his head.

"I still can't believe this is yours." He said.

"Well, ours now. There's no legal documents concerning ownership so this is going to be our new home. We simply can't stay in the city anymore," said Connor, Gabriel bowing his head, thinking about what that could mean.

"That being said, we need to go back and grab our stuff. It'll only be a few hours so try not to burn down the house will ya?" He addressed the girls. After Gabriel and Connor left for the city the girls sat together by the fire that Connor had started before he left. They bundled a blanket around themselves and just sat silently, enjoying the warmth of a sister and a friendly fire.

"Well Harmony, what do you think?" Asked Clarissa.

"About what?"

"About this. All of this. We haven't really had a chance to talk freely with just the two of us for awhile. So, what do you think?" Clarissa waited for her sister to answer, just listening to the silent crackling of the fire. It was a few minutes before Harmony spoke.

"I guess I think we got lucky," Harmony said. Clarissa glanced at her sister.

"How so?"

"Well, we could have ended up anywhere. On a deserted island, in the middle of a battleground, or even in the ocean! Instead, we came to a place where we met two amazing people who seem to be doing everything they can, even at their own cost, to help two strangers lost in a big new world. In that respect, I consider us lucky." Harmony said with a small smile. Clarissa rested her chin on her hand.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But amazing? I don't know about that," said Clarissa. Harmony giggled and elbowed Clarissa lightly.

"Oh? Is that so? Don't think I haven't noticed those glances you've been giving Gabriel," she teased. Clarissa pushed her lightly on the shoulder.

"Shut up! It isn't like that at all! I just get this feeling that…I know him from somewhere. Like, I've met him before." She said wonderingly. Harmony looked back to the fire but didn't lose her small smile.

"This place," she began.

"This place is incredible. Not just the house but the city too, despite the foul air. Filled with so many different people, so many new things! Their version of magic is pretty magnificent too! Most of it doesn't even require words to activate them!" Harmony said.

"It's cool I'll give it that. But there are a lot of bad things here too. Those Shuma punks, that air you mentioned, and Connor's bad humor." Clarissa grimaced a bit at the latter.

"I don't know, I think he's pretty ridiculous at times, but still kinda funny." It might have been the glow of the fire but Clarissa thought she saw Harmony's face go a different shade. Speaking of shade…

"Well, have you thought about Shade at all? Or mom and dad?" Clarissa asked her. She saw a mix of emotions cross Harmony's face at the mention of the tall slender boy. Harmony tried to find the words to express her very confused thoughts but couldn't think about anything but the sweet smell of roses…

Clarissa closed her eyes.

"Gah, fine. You don't have to answer that." She said. A little breath escaped the tan girl's lips.

"Lets get to the matter of how we get back to, what did Connor and Gabriel call it? Minecraft?" Clarissa asked. Harmony nodded her head.

"Yeah, that's what it was called."

"So, any ideas?"

Harmony and Clarissa thought about it but could only draw blanks.

 **"Here's an idea."** Came a low but thunderous voice from behind them.

The girls stiffened but found they couldn't move. There was fear behind a set of silver and a set of dark steel eyes as a pair of pure, glowing white eyes appeared behind them.

 **"You stay very still, and we talk for a little bit. Your new friends won't be back for awhile. I've made sure of that."**

They could practically feel him behind them.

 **"Unfortunately, I cannot manifest completely on this plane of existence at this moment, but that won't be a problem for much longer. My other half is nearby and I'm getting closer to tracking him down. Then I'll have the power that is rightfully mine."**

The girls shuddered as a coalition of black smog with two glowing white eyes appeared from around the side of the couch. It vaguely resembled a man. The smog moved to them and sat casually behind them. They felt a cold chill go up their spines as it "leaned" against their backs.

 **"But enough of that. Lets get to you two. YOU, were supposed to be miserable. You were supposed to end up in a bad area where beautiful girls are kidnapped, raped, and sometimes tortured and more often than not killed in a brutal way. But instead, you happened across two of the very few white souls in that dark, dark city. Well, mostly white souls."** He chuckled.

The girls knew it was pointless to waste energy fighting back but Clarissa couldn't help herself, she was furious! She struggled and fought against the binding he had put on her. Harmony kept perfectly still, not moving a muscle. She knew she had to preserve her energy for when the field weakened.

 **"I really don't appreciate those boys interfering with my plans. So I hope you don't mind if I play with them a bit. Their souls are so interesting."**

 **That one with the white hair is very peculiar. I've only ever seen one other like it but this one is still unique. It keeps moving; contorting within itself in various shades of white, black, and gray. I can feel something more underneath it all but I can't put my finger on it. Yet.**

 **The other one, the one with the horse mane, is an oddity as well. His soul is split. Right down the middle! Half of his body has his typical human soul of white with a few strands of gray and black thrown in, but the other side is almost transparent. Empty. There's really is no other word for it. But, I can't say I haven't seen it before. In fact I saw one like his very recently, in another world...**

 **It'll be fun to see how their souls react to what I have planned for them. I can't promise what condition they'll be in when they return, or if they return. I've left them a little something back at their apartment building. I do hope they offer me some entertainment before my toys break them and rip them apart. And because I'm such a nice person, if they die I'll have them shipped back to you for a burial. You can expect a package about once a month. It'll take awhile."**

He sounded like he was smiling while he was saying all of this. It only made Clarissa angrier. She strained against her invisible bindings and there was a soft snapping sound. The spectre's head swiveled over to her and inspected her.

 **"Hmmm. Impressive. You have actually fought against my binding spell. That hasn't happened before. Congratulations. Now I suppose I should depart before you do something dramatic."**

The spectre stood up and walked towards the fire and turned around to face them.

 **"Have fun, I know I will."**

And with that it faded away, the smog being pulled in by the fire. The bindings on the girls was released and they slumped back **,** Clarissa breathing heavily and Harmony deep in worried thought.

"We have to help them!" Harmony said. Clarissa took a breath and nodded.

"B-but how?" She gasped. Harmony thought for a while but couldn't think of anything. They elected to wait for the boys' return since there was nothing that they could do to help. It looked like they were on their own for now.


	5. Chapter 5

**First off, I do not own Minecraft or Swedish Fish. The mob talker girls are INSPIRED by the actual mod so technically I own them along with my characters. They still pretty much look the same so don't worry about visualizing them wrong. I just didn't like their clothes and the attitudes generally associated with the original mob talker girls. Think of Harmony as a younger and more innocent looking version of her base. Both of the girls also don't have such huge, uh, racks. Think maybe a C for each. That's all I have to say on THAT particular topic. But skin tone, hair color/length/style, and age are generally about the same. If you guys have any questions for me or have an OC to give me PLEASE put them in the reviews. It puts all of the OCs I'm given in once place which makes it way easier and faster for me than having to open multiple windows to pull up different PMs from like, four different people. Questions should be asked in the reviews because if someone else has the same question then they won't have to ask. I will answer any questions directly to the people who ask them in this A/N section of my chapters. Feedback from you guys is very important to me. It not only helps me grow as a writer but also gives me the drive to keep writing this story. That's all for now. See you guys in the next chapter!**

* * *

Connor and Gabriel reached their apartment complex at ten past midnight. There was nothing but empty cars in the lot and the chirps of a single cricket. They surveyed the area and couldn't find a single soul. Connor decided to give in to paranoia and parked around the building, where a concrete slab wall obscured them from anyone on the bottom floor.

In the almost pitch darkness his black car was next to invisible in the shade of a tree. The boys got out, Gabriel wearing a spare black jacket they found in the trunk with the hoodie over his head. Connor got a spare set of combat gloves he kept in the glove box and switched his fingerless leather ones with the sturdy, hard-knuckle ones. They made their way to the wall and looked for ways over it, since it was too high for them to climb up normally. Then Connor got an idea. He motioned to Gabriel and had him stand a few feet back from the wall.

Connor turned around and crouched with his back to the wall, his hands forming a cup in front of his waist. Gabriel nodded and sprinted towards Connor, jumping a bit and landing one foot in Connor's hands. Connor hoisted Gabriel up onto the top of the wall, where Gabriel reached down and grabbed Connor's outstretched hand. After hoisting his friend onto the wall they inspected their surroundings.

A few lights were still on in some windows but all of the curtains were drawn, dimming the light spilling into the small courtyard. They hopped down and made their way silently to the stairwell that wound up to the other floors. Their footsteps clanged on the metal mesh stairs, even with light steps, causing the boys to cringe with every step.

When they arrived at the second floor Connor split off. He moved towards his room while Gabriel went up one more floor. Connor saw some windows were open and the lights were on. He got down on his stomach and crawled under the windows to avoid detection and crouch-walked after he passed an open window. When he got to his room he unlocked it as quietly as he could and stepped inside.

It was dark.

Connor pulled out his phone and turned on the light. He didn't want to risk turning on the lights in case his apartment was being watched on the outside. He made his way to the kitchen and opened a cabinet. In it was a Tupperware box that contained enough dark chocolate and Swedish Fish to last one man a solid few months. He took the box and made his way to the bedroom.

He put the box on the bed and moved over to the closet. Inside he found his two large black duffle bags. He retrieved the bags and set them on the bed as well. Connor proceeded to empty the closet of what little clothes he had and emptied them into the first duffle. Once he had socks, underwear, shirts, pants, and other wearable items he took his two live ammo guns and put them in the bag too.

As an afterthought, Connor got out his chest holster from the closet and slid his 1911 in it, a .45 clip already in the gun. Connor put his green jacket back on and checked that his rifle had all of its ammo and the cleaning kit.

He didn't have room for all of his blades, so he grabbed his favorite kukri, machete, a few daggers, a handful of throwing knives, and a butterfly knife. He put the butterfly knife in his pocket and packed the selected weapons. With the closet cleared out he went to the bathroom.

He grabbed everything that he wouldn't find in the bathrooms in the house. He grabbed his gray glasses case; which only reminded him of how sore his eyes were from wearing his contacts for so long. He grabbed the saline bottle and dropped a few drops of saline solution in his eyes. He gasped as the liquid burned his sore eyes and blinked the excess liquid away.

He also grabbed his extra contacts, some cosmetic products (special shampoo and the like), and his hair dye. He unceremoniously dropped it all into the bag with the clothes. It was a tight fit, but Connor also managed to squeeze in the Tupperware box of sugar treats.

Hey, an addict never leaves his stash behind.

With that bag settled he zipped it up and retrieved his laptop, gaming headphones, and wireless mouse from the nightstand. While he was there he made sure to grab phone chargers, his Kindle, and a pair of brass knuckles. Sliding the knuckles into his jacket pocket he put the rest into the bag of weapons. He wasn't worried about his blades severing any cords or damaging anything since he had sheathes for them all.

With everything packed and ready to go he carried the bags into the living room. He dropped the bags and stopped by his desk to write a quick note to the landlady. The note said that he and Gabriel on the third floor would not be coming back and the rent money they both owed would be mailed to her by the end of the week. He didn't include anything the Shuma could use to find them.

Once that was done he took his bags and rushed out the door. He wouldn't be able to sneak around with two big duffle bags over both of his shoulders so he decided to rush it. After locking the door he taped the note and the key to the door for the landlady to find when she made her morning patrol of the apartments.

He rushed around the corner and didn't stop until he was at the wall. He tossed the bags up onto the wall and waited for Gabriel. After a few minutes of impatient waiting he saw Gabriel rushing around the corner on the third floor with a green canvas bag that was big enough to fit a person.

Connor groaned and ran up the stairwell to help him.

"Seriously? You couldn't find a smaller bag?" He asked annoyed.

"No. This bag has my computer, some clothes, and my favorite guns in it! They couldn't fit into my one duffle bag!" Gabriel said, his breathing starting to get rushed. Connor said nothing but gave his friend an annoyed look before grabbing one end. It took them only a minute to reach the ground and get to the wall. They contemplated on how they would lift the bag up when they heard tires screeching on asphalt.

They stopped and listened. They heard car doors slamming shut and a lot of shouting.

Connor and Gabriel looked at each other in a panic and picked up the bag with newfound strength and threw the bag unceremoniously over the wall. Connor backed up and ran at Gabriel. Gabriel gave Connor a boost onto the wall and Connor helped him up. They each grabbed a bag and jumped down, but not before they were spotted by some Shuma.

Connor threw open the back of his car and they set the bags down next to each other in the trunk. Then they grabbed Gabriel's large bag and threw that on top of the other two.

Connor threw the trunk door shut with a mighty SLAM and they went to the front.

"I drive." Gabriel said.

"In your dreams," Connor replied. Gabriel looked to be about to argue when they heard a shout from above them. Connor looked up and saw a Shuma holding a knife. Connor drew his 1911 from his shoulder holster and aimed quickly at the gangster.

 **BANG! BANG!**

The gangster showed no sign that he had been shot until he fell face first towards them and landed on the ground. Gabriel and Connor got in and Connor threw it into drive.

They sped away as quick as the old girl could go, but several sports cars and some black and white vans came speeding around the corner.

One of the vans was going so fast it rolled and slammed into a street lamp. Not a single car stopped.

"Gabriel! You got your gun?" Connor asked his friend.

"Dude, we live in the most violent city in the country. Who do you think you're talking to?" He said as he rolled down the window and threw off his hoodie.

Under the hoodie he had a chest strap with four glocks holstered. He drew one and leaned out the window. There were several shots as the Shuma shot at the black X-Terra. The old car went faster than it should have been able too, thanks to Gabriel and Connor's friend Nathan, who upgraded Connor's car in his private workshop.

Gabriel fired back at them from the shotgun seat and a sports car swerved off the road into a storefront window. Connor looked in his left side mirror and saw another sports car coming up behind him. He jumped a bit when a bullet broke the mirror. He growled and rolled down his window.

When the Shuma car got closer he drew with his left hand and pointed it at the car's windows.

"Quit shooting up my car asshats!" He hollered as he pulled the trigger. Three shots hit the windows of the sports car and it was sent swerving into another car behind them. Those two in turn were rammed by a white van. Connor slowed down and turned a corner, but some of the Shuma weren't as prepared as him and went skidding off the road.

The chase went on like this for another few minutes, when Connor made one last turn and was on the road that would take them out of the city and on towards the house. He floored the gas and went speeding down the road. The road didn't end in a turn for 300 miles, so the chase got even faster.

Gabriel quickly got in and Connor rolled up their windows. Gabriel was down to one gun and Connor had three bullets left. Connor risked a glance back from the road and saw the Shuma still on their tail. Then, he got an idea.

"Gabe!"

"Yeah?"

"You said you packed your favorite guns in that giant bag right?"

"Yeah, I did. Why?"

"Well, did you pack your sniper?"

A large grin showed on Gabriel's face. He climbed into the back seat and dug through his bag. He emerged with his monster of a rifle that was his pride and joy, since it was technically illegal and cost him more than anyone wanted to know.

He threw the bipod up and rested it on the bag from a kneeling position in the backseat. He looked through the scope and threw back the bolt of his CheyTac Intervention sniper rifle.

Suddenly Connor remembered they were in a car.

"Hey wait! You have a silencer on that thing right?" He asked. Gabriel frowned and looked at the barrel. He groaned.

"No. It's still in the bag somewhere! It wouldn't fit with the silencer on!"

"Then either get it on or open the back window and fire it with most of the gun outside of the car. I am NOT getting tinnitus from this chase!" He yelled. Gabriel groaned and crawled over the seat and into the back. He pushed the window open just enough to stick the barrel out. Then he leaned back against the bags, using his legs to brace himself securely between the trunk door and the bags. He looked through the scope and tried to sight in on one of the sports cars.

With their headlights on it was too hard to see them.

"I can't see the drivers! Headlights are too bright!" He called behind him.

"Then shoot the engines or the tires!" He yelled back.

Gabriel sighted in again and squinted until his scope was between the headlights of a car. He took in a breath and pulled the trigger. The rifle kicked back against his shoulder and the barrel hit the window, cracking it.

The car swerved, either from a very startled driver or from the engine being shot, and rolled off the road.

Gabriel cranked the bolt and sighted in again. This time he aimed for the front tire of a van. He fired and the van veered right, slamming into another van and pushing both off the road to land in a ditch.

Connor listened to Gabriel fire round after round, wincing each time.

Even with the barrel out of the car the gun was LOUD.

Connor had teased Gabriel before about it, since he spent so much money on buying it and it was illegal to own so he couldn't even take it to the shooting range. Gabriel just told him it wasn't illegal if it was in parts and he just felt better knowing he had it for when, 'shit hit the fan,' because if he ever did need it then owning an illegal gun would be the least of his worries.

After seven shots the gun ran out of ammo and Gabriel had placed well aimed shots that knocked one car into several others, essentially ending the chase.

Gabriel let out a breath and set the gun down. The gun's recoil resulted in a broken back window but other than that and a few bullet holes the car seemed remarkably undamaged. Guess Connor's naturally reckless driving came in handy every now and then.

Gabriel climbed over the seats and sat down heavily next to Connor, rubbing his shoulder with a grimace.

Connor looked at his friend with a smile on his face.

"Hah! Dude! Where did you learn to shoot like that?" He asked.

Gabriel shrugged.

"When I would visit my dad in Costa Rica he let me use his Intervention on his personal firing range. With the cash he had getting the ammo in bulk was no problem but all I could afford was that one mag. So it's pretty much useless now." He said sadly.

"Aw well, we lost em' and there's no way they can catch us way out here. I just have to wonder though, where were the cops in all this?" Connor asked. Gabriel shrugged and said he had no idea. The rest of the drive went by in silence, as the boys contemplated what just happened and wondered how many people they had just killed. It disturbed Gabriel a lot since he had never killed a man before and didn't know what he should be feeling. Right now he just felt glad that he was alive.

Connor tried to feel something for the man he shot prior to the chase and the people he shot in the cars.

But he couldn't.

He felt nothing.

And that is what disturbed him the most.

The rest of the drive went by in relative silence. Gabriel fell asleep and Connor kept awake by stopping at gas stations and buying Swedish Fish and energy drinks.

Several hours passed with no excitement and they reached the house, Gabriel starting to wake up when they hit the dirt road. Connor pulled up and parked, opening his door and telling Gabriel to get up.

He circled around the car and opened the trunk, a little red fish tail sticking out between his lips. He hauled Gabriel's bag off of the others and set the rifle down against his car. He threw the bags over both shoulders and grabbed the rifle. He walked up and knocked on the front door, holding the rifle like a walking stick.

The door opened and he saw Clarissa with a very worried look on her face. Connor smirked and opened his arms.

"Miss me?" He asked.

She just snorted and walked away, her worried expression gone like the wind. Connor hauled the bags and the gun inside and set them down on the floor. Then he walked back outside and helped Gabriel with the canvas bag.

Once everything was inside they all moved to the kitchen, where Connor and Gabriel told the girls what happened and snacked on Swedish Fish. When they were done with the story the girls looked at them both with a mix of emotions.

"Well, damn." Was all Clarissa said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Harmony asked.

"Yeah, we're fine. Other than being piss tired and really wanting a bear nap I'd say I'm fine. Buuut I'm pretty sure Gabe broke his shoulder." They looked at Gabriel, who was massaging his shoulder tenderly with a grimace.

"It's not broken. Bruised yeah but other than that I'm alright."

Clarissa shook her head, she didn't know what to say.

"How are you two so calm right now? You were just in a life and death situation and here you are. Eating small fish from a bag like you just got home from a long day at work!"

Connor was in the middle of putting another fish in his mouth but paused mid bite. He glanced back and forth and slowly bit the candy.

Gabriel was looking at him in utter disbelief with his eyebrow raised and his mouth hanging open. Then he sighed and pinched his nose.

"There is no hope for you." He said solemnly.

"Since when have I needed it?" Connor retorted, his mouth full of chewy cherry deliciousness. He swallowed and smiled with red bits of gummy in his teeth.

"I've survived more accidents, near-death instances, and angry women than I can even count. I'm unkillable!" He proclaimed proudly with his fist raised in the air.

This withdrew an exasperated sigh from everyone in the room.

"Angry women?" Harmony asked. Clarissa was mimicking Gabriel's reaction with a facepalm.

"I think I understand that one." She said. Connor produced a water bottle and swished water around his mouth to get the sugar and remains of the candy from his teeth. Gabriel sighed and looked back up, leaning against the wall.

"One of Connor's greatest skills is the ability to piss off ANYONE. We were eating at a restaurant and he kept 'accidentally' hitting on the waitress. She actually had another waitress take her place because of him. Best of all was that he didn't notice we suddenly had a different waitress until we told him after we paid." Harmony cocked her head at Connor while Clarissa peeked at him from behind her hand. He just stood there and leaned against the counter.

"If women think I'm hitting on them while I just try to have a conversation then fine. I guess I'm such a natural I do it without even trying." The girls groaned again while Connor just smiled and shrugged his arms innocently.

' _And yet, you still can't seem to find someone to replace L,'_ Gabriel thought but didn't dare say aloud. Gabriel gestured to his comrade.

"And THIS is why being in a life and death situation doesn't really phase me. I have to deal with THIS all the time."

"You are who you hang with." Connor said. Gabriel grabbed a fish and threw it at him.

"If you two are done being children can we please get on with what actually matters?" Clarissa asked.

"Sure. We have our stuff, a five-star wanted level, and a kickass hideout all to ourselves. What do you wanna do?" Connor asked.

Everyone shared a look.

"You know anyplace around here with fresh food?" Harmony asked.

* * *

 **One more quick note. If you guys like this style of story (Mob talker inspired and set on Earth instead of Minecraft) try reading Rhapzody's story, "Cupa." Rhapz is one of the main reasons I write and my hopes is that since he has basically stopped writing his he will grant me permission to include his characters in this story. But, he hasn't responded back. Still an awesome story though. Mine is more action based than his is, his is straight up romance. Anyway guys, enjoy your lives!**


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